Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury ETF (VGIT) and iShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEI) both offer intermediate U.S. Treasury exposure but differ in maturity scope (VGIT 3–10 years vs IEI 3–7 years), scale (AUM $42.9bn vs $17.4bn) and costs — VGIT charges an ultra-low expense ratio of roughly 0.03% versus IEI’s 0.15% — with VGIT also showing a slightly higher dividend yield (≈3.8% vs 3.4%) while IEI posted marginally stronger recent returns (1-year total return 2.4% vs 2.2%). Over five years IEI delivered a higher growth of $1,000 ($898 vs $858) and a shallower max drawdown (-14.22% vs -15.43%), implying modestly better downside protection in stress, whereas VGIT’s fee and yield advantages make it the more cost-efficient choice for long-term, income-focused Treasury allocations.
VGIT and IEI both provide intermediate‑term U.S. Treasury exposure but differ materially in structure, cost and recent performance: VGIT covers 3–10 year maturities with 105 holdings, charges a 0.03% expense ratio, has $42.9 billion AUM and a 3.8% dividend yield, while IEI covers 3–7 year issues with 83 holdings, charges 0.15%, manages $17.4 billion and yields about 3.4%. Over the trailing 12 months IEI returned 2.4% versus VGIT’s 2.2%, and over five years $1,000 invested grew to $898 in IEI versus $858 in VGIT. Risk metrics favor IEI modestly: IEI’s five‑year max drawdown was -14.22% versus VGIT’s -15.43% and beta is lower at 0.71 versus 0.82 for VGIT, indicating slightly less sensitivity to equity market moves. For buy‑and‑hold, income‑focused investors the fee and yield advantages of VGIT are meaningful over time, whereas investors prioritizing marginally smoother downside performance or slightly stronger recent returns may accept IEI’s higher fee for its narrower maturity focus.
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