Statistics · 2026 · ETFs
Treasury and T-Bill ETF Statistics (2026)
SGOV, BIL, and SHV were the best-performing Treasury ETFs over the past year, returning 3.6% to 3.8% with dividends reinvested, as of October 2, 2026. TLT, which holds long bonds, returned -8.9%. The S&P 500 fund SPY returned 16.7%. Maturity differs sharply across these funds, so match the fund to how long you can wait.
Key takeaways
- SGOV returned 3.8% over the past year and TLT returned -8.9%, a gap of 12.7 points.
- Expense ratios run from 0.03% for VGSH to 0.15% for TLT, or $3 to $15 per $10,000 a year.
- The 3 funds that hold Treasuries maturing within a year paid trailing yields of 3.64% to 3.67%, against a 3-month bill rate of 4.03% (discount basis) on September 30, 2026.
- 3 of the 8 funds had a negative five-year annualized total return.
- TLT fell 47.6% from peak to trough (month-end prices; lows within a month are not captured), against 23.9% for SPY.
Which Treasury ETFs performed best?
SGOV, BIL, and SHV led over one year at 3.6% to 3.8% with dividends reinvested, while TLT ranked last at -8.9%. Over five years the leader was SGOV at 3.8% a year and TLT ranked last at -8.4%. The table below adds volatility and yield for each fund.
Each return runs from a month-end close to the October 2, 2026 price and is annualized over the actual days: the one-year figure covers September 30, 2025 to October 2, 2026, so it will not match an issuer's month-end one-year return.
1. One-year gap: 12.7 percentage points
SGOV returned 3.79% over the past year, BIL returned 3.69% and SHV returned 3.64%, so the top 3 sit within 0.15 points of each other. TLT returned -8.9% (WealthyBud data · 8 Treasury funds, total return · October 2, 2026).
2. Five-year spread: 12.2 points a year
SGOV returned 3.8% a year and TLT returned -8.4% a year; 3 of 8 funds were negative over five years. Over ten years the range ran from -2.8% for TLT to 2.3% for SHV. SGOV has 76 month-end prices, fewer than the 121 a ten-year return needs, so it is left out of the ten-year ranking. SHV (2.33%) and BIL (2.30%) both round to 2.3%, a near-tie. (WealthyBud data · 5- and 10-yr annualized total return · October 2, 2026).
| Ticker | Fund | Expense ratio | 1-yr total return | 5-yr total return (ann.) | Volatility (ann.) | Trailing yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BIL | State Street SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF | 0.1353% | 3.7% | 3.7% | 0.5% | 3.67% |
| GOVT | iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF | 0.05% | -1.9% | -1.1% | 5.8% | 3.82% |
| IEF | iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF | 0.15% | -3.7% | -2.0% | 7.7% | 4.17% |
| SGOV | iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF | 0.09% | 3.8% | 3.8% | 0.5% | 3.65% |
| SHV | iShares 0–1 Year Treasury Bond ETF | 0.15% | 3.6% | 3.6% | 0.6% | 3.64% |
| SHY | iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF | 0.15% | 1.6% | 1.7% | 2.1% | 3.64% |
| TLT | iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF | 0.15% | -8.9% | -8.4% | 14.6% | 5.02% |
| VGSH | Vanguard Short-Term Treasury ETF | 0.03% | 1.7% | 1.9% | 2.1% | 3.79% |
| SPY | State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | 0.0945% | 16.7% | 13.9% | 15.7% | 0.99% |
How much do Treasury ETFs cost?
Expense ratios range from 0.03% for VGSH to 0.15% for IEF, SHV, SHY, and TLT, with a median of 0.14%. On $10,000 that is $3 to $15 a year. The S&P 500 fund SPY charges 0.0945%, and 3 of the 8 Treasury funds charge less.
3. VGSH costs 0.03% and 4 funds tie at 0.15%
The cheapest Treasury fund is VGSH, followed by GOVT at 0.05% and SGOV at 0.09%. IEF, SHV, SHY, and TLT share the highest ratio, 0.15%, which is 5.0 times VGSH’s. BIL’s 0.1353% is its gross expense ratio, before any waivers (WealthyBud data · issuer-verified expense ratios · October 2, 2026).
Compare major ETFs by fees and returns
How volatile are Treasury ETFs?
TLT was the most volatile Treasury fund, with annualized volatility of 14.6%, against 0.50% for SGOV. TLT had the deepest drawdown at 47.6% (month-end prices; lows within a month are not captured). Volatility measures how much monthly returns swing, while drawdown measures the worst fall from a peak.
4. TLT swung most: 14.6% annualized
TLT had the highest volatility, followed by IEF at 7.7%. SPY measured 15.7%, and all 8 Treasury funds ran below it. Volatility is the annualized standard deviation of the last 60 complete monthly returns through September 30, 2026 (WealthyBud data · complete monthly returns · October 2, 2026).
5. TLT fell 47.6% peak to trough
TLT had the deepest drawdown, with IEF next at 23.2%. SPY fell 23.9%, and 1 of the 8 Treasury funds fell further. SGOV fell only 0.003%. Drawdown uses dividend-adjusted prices: 121 month-end prices from September 30, 2016 to September 30, 2026 plus the October 2, 2026 price; lows within a month are not captured and the dataset does not record when each low occurred; SGOV has 76 month-end prices from June 30, 2020 (WealthyBud data · max drawdown · October 2, 2026).
How does duration change Treasury ETF risk?
Duration estimates how sensitive a bond fund’s price is to interest rate changes, and longer duration generally means larger swings. iShares lists effective duration of 0.11 years for SGOV, 1.84 for SHY, 6.87 for IEF and 14.69 for TLT. Measured volatility rose with duration across all four of those funds.
6. TLT effective duration is 14.69 years, 8.0 times SHY’s 1.84
TLT has 8.0 times the effective duration of SHY as of October 1, 2026, per the iShares fund pages for SHY, IEF, TLT and SGOV.
7. Volatility: 0.50% for SGOV up to 14.6% for TLT
Across the four funds, measured volatility was 0.50%, 2.1%, 7.7% and 14.6% in order of duration. TLT was 7.0 times as volatile as SHY on a duration 8.0 times as long (WealthyBud data · volatility vs issuer duration · October 2, 2026). This does not show that duration alone causes the gap.
8. Drawdown: 0.003% for SGOV, 47.6% for TLT
Worst drawdowns also rose with duration: 0.003% (SGOV), 5.4% (SHY), 23.2% (IEF) and 47.6% (TLT). TLT’s fall was 8.9 times SHY’s. Drawdowns are month-end based (month-end prices; lows within a month are not captured); the windows are stated earlier on this page (WealthyBud data · max drawdown · October 2, 2026).
9. The 10-year Treasury yield moved from 4.16% to 5.29% in a year, +1.13 points
FRED’s 10-year constant maturity series read 4.16% on September 30, 2025 and 5.29% on September 30, 2026. The SEC’s Investor.gov says that interest rate changes can affect a bond’s value. This is context, not a test of cause.
| Fund | Effective duration | Avg yield to maturity | Volatility (ann.) | Worst drawdown |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SGOV | 0.11 yrs | 3.96% | 0.5% | under 0.01% |
| SHY | 1.84 yrs | 4.76% | 2.1% | 5.36% |
| IEF | 6.87 yrs | 5.20% | 7.7% | 23.15% |
| TLT | 14.69 yrs | 5.67% | 14.6% | 47.61% |
How do T-bill ETF yields compare with the 3-month T-bill rate?
The 3-month Treasury bill rate was 4.03% on September 30, 2026, on a discount basis. The 3 funds holding Treasuries that mature within a year paid trailing 12-month yields of 3.64% to 3.67%, below that rate and close to the 3.69% average bill rate over the 12 months to that date.
10. FRED: the 3-month T-bill rate was 4.03% on September 30, 2026
The Federal Reserve’s 3-month Treasury bill secondary market rate, discount basis, read 4.03% for September 30, 2026 on FRED series DTB3. The Treasury’s 3-month par yield that day was 4.20%, a bond-equivalent figure, per its daily par yield curve.
11. Trailing yields sat 0.36 to 0.39 points below the 4.03% discount-basis bill rate (0.53 to 0.56 below the 4.20% par yield)
BIL, SGOV, and SHV had trailing yields of 3.67%, 3.65%, and 3.64%. Gaps use the 4.03% discount-basis rate and the 4.20% bond-equivalent par yield. Trailing yield (WealthyBud, as of October 2, 2026) is the last 12 months of distributions divided by price, not a current or forward yield (WealthyBud data · yield_ttm vs FRED DTB3 · October 2, 2026).
12. The average bill rate over the 12 months to September 30, 2026 was 3.69%
WealthyBud’s calculation averages the 250 daily DTB3 readings from September 30, 2025 to September 30, 2026. The 3 funds sit within 0.05 points of that average (WealthyBud data · simple average of daily DTB3 vs yield_ttm · October 2, 2026).
13. 2 of the 8 funds out-yield the 4.03% discount-basis bill rate; 1 of the 8 beat the 4.20% par yield
Trailing yields above 4.03% (discount basis): TLT 5.02% and IEF 4.17%. Above 4.20% (bond-equivalent par yield): TLT 5.02%. Those funds hold longer maturities, and their one-year total returns were -8.9% and -3.7%, so the extra yield came with price swings (WealthyBud data · yield_ttm vs DTB3; total return · October 2, 2026).
14. iShares and WealthyBud trailing yields differ for the same fund
As of September 30, 2026, iShares lists 12-month trailing yields of SGOV 3.69%, SHY 3.65%, IEF 4.14%, and TLT 5.00%. WealthyBud’s figures, as of October 2, 2026, are SGOV 3.65%, SHY 3.64%, IEF 4.17%, and TLT 5.02%. They differ by date and calculation method.
What does the Treasury yield curve show?
On October 1, 2026 Treasury par yields ran from 4.17% at 3 months to 5.24% at 10 years and 5.61% at 30 years. Funds that hold longer bonds, such as TLT, report higher average yields to maturity than funds that hold bills.
15. Par yields ran from 4.17% (3 months) to 5.61% (30 years)
The Treasury’s daily par yield curve rates for October 1, 2026 show 4.78% at 2 years and 5.24% at 10 years. The 30-year yield was 144 basis points above the 3-month yield, and the 10-year was 107 basis points above.
What this means for investors
Match maturity to your timeline. SGOV, BIL, and SHV returned 3.6% to 3.8% over the past year, while TLT returned -8.9%. Long bonds fit only money you can leave alone through a fall like TLT’s 47.6% (month-end prices; lows within a month are not captured).
Pick the cheapest fund for the same maturity. SHY and VGSH both hold 1-3 year Treasuries, yet SHY costs $12 more per $10,000 a year.
Do not read trailing yield as today’s rate. It averages the past 12 months. For the wider bond landscape, see bond ETF statistics. Dividend and bond ETF statistics shows price returns, which exclude distributions, so TLT’s figure there differs from the total returns here.
Watch rates across your plan. See interest rates and stocks statistics and mortgage rate statistics. Past returns are not forecasts.
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