ETFs whose full cost to own is far above the fee
As of Oct 22, 2026, SPLB’s full cost to own for a year is 0.20%, 4.9 times its fee. See 8 funds ranked by full cost to own for a year as a multiple of the fee, largest first. Updated Oct 22, 2026.
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Ask IQ about ETFs whose full cost to own is far above the feeAnswers cite the figures on this page.
| # | Ticker | Fund | Full cost ÷ fee ↓ | Score | Tier | Cost to trade | At $10,000 | Full cost to own · 1 yr | Fee | Flags | Net assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SPLB | State Street SPDR Portfolio Long Term Corporate Bond ETF | 4.9× | 86 | Trades like a giant | 0.025% | $2.50 | 0.20% | 0.04% | None | $1.2bn |
| 2 | SPHY | State Street SPDR Portfolio High Yield Bond ETF | 4.6× | 87 | Trades like a giant | 0.020% | $2.00 | 0.23% | 0.05% | None | $11.7bn |
| 3 | SPBO | State Street SPDR Portfolio Corporate Bond ETF | 4.3× | 90 | Trades like a giant | 0.020% | $2.00 | 0.13% | 0.03% | None | $2.1bn |
| 4 | MBND | State Street Nuveen Municipal Bond ETF | 3.5× | 43 | Thin | 0.23% | $24 | 1.40% | 0.40% | Price can drift from valueOne dealer | $25m |
| 5 | SPMB | State Street SPDR Portfolio Mortgage Backed Bond ETF | 3.4× | 88 | Trades like a giant | 0.025% | $2.50 | 0.14% | 0.04% | None | $6.9bn |
| 6 | SPTL | State Street SPDR Portfolio Long Term Treasury ETF | 3.4× | 90 | Trades like a giant | 0.020% | $2.00 | 0.10% | 0.03% | None | $11.7bn |
| 7 | SPAB | State Street SPDR Portfolio Aggregate Bond ETF | 3.3× | 86 | Trades like a giant | 0.020% | $2.00 | 0.10% | 0.03% | None | $10.5bn |
| 8 | ION | ProShares S&P Global Core Battery Metals ETF | 3.0× | 41 | Thin | 0.28% | $28 | 1.76% | 0.58% | Price can drift from value | $10m |
Method
Every ETF whose full cost to own $10,000 for a year is three times its fee or more. Full cost is the fee, one round trip at the 30-day median spread, and the median premium or discount over 12 months. 8 of the 4,708 ETFs that may be listed qualify tonight.
The rest of the method
The IQ Liquidity Score measures trading conditions, not the fund, and no list here is a recommendation. The list sorts one published figure, with no scoring or weighting. Too new and closing funds are left out, as are funds no longer listed.
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure; a link is not an endorsement. A ranking is not a recommendation or an opinion.
Questions people ask
Why can an ETF cost more than its fee?
Buying and selling cost the spread, and a price above or below NAV costs or pays the gap. For a short holding those can be larger than a year’s fee.
Which ETF tops this list as of Oct 22, 2026?
SPLB: its full cost to own $10,000 for a year is 0.20%, 4.9 times its fee of 0.04%.
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ETFIQ, ETFs whose full cost to own is far above the fee, ranked by full cost to own for a year as a multiple of the fee, largest first, data as of Oct 22, 2026. https://etfiq.com/rankings/trading-full-cost-far-above-the-fee
ETFIQ. (Oct 22, 2026). ETFs whose full cost to own is far above the fee, ranked by full cost to own for a year as a multiple of the fee, largest first. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/rankings/trading-full-cost-far-above-the-fee
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