Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
VGLT vs ZROZ: Differences, Returns & Fees
VGLT's duration was 13.5 years on May 31, 2026 and ZROZ's 27.2 on Jun 30, 2026; VGLT charges 0.03% to ZROZ's 0.15%.
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Net assets: $10.4bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Long-Term Treasury ETF, and $1.4bn on Jun 30, 2026 for PIMCO 25+ Year Zero Coupon U.S. Treasury Index Exchange-Traded Fund.
Pair scorecard
VGLT costs 0.12 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 7.7 points.
| Measure | VGLT | ZROZ |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | −6.7% | −14.4% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 38.8%, high on Aug 4, 2020 | 62.2%, high on Mar 9, 2020 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Bloomberg U.S. Long Treasury Index | ICE BofA Long US Treasury Principal STRIPS Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.03% | 0.15% |
| Net assets, VGLT as of Sep 30, 2026 and ZROZ as of Jun 30, 2026 | $10.4bn | $1.4bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Dec 4, 2009 to Oct 23, 2026 · 881 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: VGLT against SCHQ, Oct 18, 2019 to Oct 23, 2026; ZROZ against GOVZ, Oct 2, 2020 to Oct 23, 2026.
VGLT returned more: +46.2% to +36.4%. VGLT swung less: 12.7% to 22.2%. VGLT fell less at its worst: −45.6% to −64.4%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | VGLT | ZROZ | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +46.2% | +36.4% | VGLT | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +2.3% | +1.8% | VGLT | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | −13.0% | −19.8% | VGLT | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 12.7% | 22.2% | VGLT | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 9.1% | 15.3% | VGLT | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −45.6% | −64.4% | VGLT | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 99.5% | 99.2% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 99.8% | 99.9% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 1.00 | 0.99 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 1.00 | 0.98 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.12 | 0.12 | ZROZ (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.17 | 0.18 | ZROZ (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | −0.058 | −0.154 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.05 | 0.03 | VGLT | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | SCHQ | GOVZ | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | 0.0% a year | −0.3% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −0.24 | −0.30 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −0.4% to +0.3% | −2.5% to +1.8% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | −0.04 | −0.05 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 0.5% | 2.7% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 881 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, VGLT and ZROZ hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
VGLT and ZROZ on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
VGLT and ZROZ are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. VGLT follows Bloomberg U.S. Long Treasury Index and ZROZ follows ICE BofA Long US Treasury Principal STRIPS Index.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 VGLT returned −6.7% and ZROZ −14.4% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 7.7 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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VGLT
VGLT tracks an index of Long-term Treasury. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −6.7% with distributions reinvested, against −6.7% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Long Treasury Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. It sat 38.8% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Oct 28, 2026.
ZROZ
ZROZ tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −14.4% with distributions reinvested, against −14.4% for its benchmark, the ICE BofA Long US Treasury Principal STRIPS Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. It sat 62.2% below its high of Mar 9, 2020 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, VGLT or ZROZ?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VGLT returned −6.7% and ZROZ −14.4%.
- Which is cheaper, VGLT or ZROZ?
- VGLT is cheaper, by 0.12 percentage points a year. That is about $12 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
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ETFIQ, VGLT against ZROZ, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vglt-vs-zroz
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). VGLT against ZROZ. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vglt-vs-zroz
[VGLT against ZROZ (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vglt-vs-zroz)
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