Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
TLT vs TLTI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, TLT returned −7.9% to TLTI's −6.2%, and TLT charges 0.15% to TLTI's 0.58%.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $47.4bn for iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF and $22m for NEOS Enhanced Income 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF.
Pair scorecard
TLT costs 0.43 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.7 points; TLT is far larger, $47.4bn against $22m.
| Measure | TLT | TLTI |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | −7.9% | −6.2% |
| Price change, 1 year | fell 12.0% | fell 11.7% |
| Latest payout, annualized | 6.1% | |
| Return of capital, issuer estimate | 19% of the Oct 16, 2026 payment | |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 42.6%, high on Aug 4, 2020 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | ICE U.S. Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index | Benchmark: 20+ Year Treasury, measured through TLT |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.15% | 0.58% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $47.4bn | $22m |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 4% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Oct 28, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Dec 20, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026 · 96 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: TLT against BBLB, Apr 28, 2023 to Oct 23, 2026; TLTI against TLT, Dec 20, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026.
TLTI returned more: +1.4% to −0.4%. TLTI swung slightly less: 10.2% to 10.7%. TLTI fell less at its worst: −10.7% to −12.0%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | TLT | TLTI | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | −0.4% | +1.4% | TLTI | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | −0.2% | +0.7% | TLTI | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | −7.9% | −10.0% | TLT | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 10.7% | 10.2% | TLTI (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 8.2% | 7.9% | TLTI (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −12.0% | −10.7% | TLTI | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 102.4% | 94.8% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 101.2% | 94.6% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 1.01 | 0.96 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 1.00 | 0.99 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | −0.34 | −0.27 | TLTI | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | −0.45 | −0.35 | TLTI | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | −0.072 | −0.029 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | −0.02 | 0.07 | TLTI | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | BBLB | TLT | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | 0.0% a year | +0.8% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −0.01 | 1.04 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −0.8% to +0.8% | −0.7% to +2.2% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | −0.10 | 0.84 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 0.7% | 1.1% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 96 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, TLT and TLTI hold 4% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Oct 28, 2026.
half
4% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
TLT and TLTI on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ. Cash paid: distributions over the window, as a share of the starting price.
TLT and TLTI do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. TLT follows ICE U.S. Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index and TLTI is measured against 20+ Year Treasury through TLT.
- Holdings in common. 4% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Oct 28, 2026).
- Cost. TLT charges 0.15% of assets a year and TLTI 0.58%, a gap of 0.43 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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TLT
TLT tracks an index of 20+ year Treasuries. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −7.9% with distributions reinvested, against −7.8% for its benchmark, the ICE U.S. Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. It sat 42.6% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Oct 28, 2026.
TLTI
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, TLTI paid 5.7% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 11.7%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned −6.2%. 20+ Year Treasury (TLT) returned −7.9% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 1.7 pts. At its price on Oct 28, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 6.1%, paid monthly. NEOS estimates that 19% of the distribution paid Oct 16, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.
Questions people ask
- Are TLT and TLTI in the same category?
- TLT is a bond ETF and TLTI is an option-income ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
- Which returned more over the last year, TLT or TLTI?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, TLT returned −7.9% and TLTI −6.2%.
- Which is cheaper, TLT or TLTI?
- TLT is cheaper, by 0.43 percentage points a year. That is about $43 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
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ETFIQ, TLT against TLTI, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/tlt-vs-tlti
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). TLT against TLTI. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/tlt-vs-tlti
[TLT against TLTI (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/tlt-vs-tlti)
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