Vanguard Long-Term Treasury ETF
$50.41+0.18 (+0.36%)
- 0.03%
- $15.1B
- −8.6%
- 5.03%
- 2.6M sh
- $50.21
- low $49.30high $58.44
The ETF.net VGLT Grade
A
Score 86 out of 100
- 1 of 11
Score 86 of 100 falls in the A band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.
Cost
The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.A92 out of 100Rank 1 of 11Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A100 out of 100Rank 1 of 10Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.B65 out of 100Rank 2 of 11Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.A71 out of 100Rank 2 of 11Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.A91 out of 100Rank 1 of 10Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A87 out of 100Rank 2 of 11
Our read on VGLT
AThree basis points for the long end of the Treasury curve. VGLT tracks a market-weighted index of long-dated government bonds, pays income monthly, and charges a fraction of what this category typically costs.
The fund seeks to track a market-weighted Treasury index with a long-term dollar-weighted average maturity. It uses index sampling and invests at least 80% of assets in securities included in the target index.
Why people hold it
- 0.03% a year, a fifth of TLT's 0.15% and the lowest fee among its long-Treasury peers.investor.vanguard.com
- Sticks to the mandate: index sampling of the Bloomberg U.S. Long Treasury Bond Index, with at least 80% of assets in index securities and one of the tightest implementations in its group.vanguard.com
- Pure US Treasury paper, roughly 70 bonds, no corporate credit risk in the mix, with distributions paid monthly.fund-docs.vanguard.com
- A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, which generally keeps bid-ask spreads modest for a long-bond vehicle.
Worth knowing
- Duration is the point and the risk. Long maturities mean prices swing hard when long-term yields move, in both directions.
- Not a 20-year-and-out pure play. The benchmark is the broad long Treasury index, so duration runs shorter than TLT or BBLB and shorter still than sibling EDV.
- Fixed coupons from a government issuer: no credit spread to earn, and inflation erodes the real value of that income.
VGLT Holdings
- Bonds
- 103
- 21%
- United States Treasury Note/Bond 5.00% 05/15/2056
Geography
- United States100.00%
VGLT Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
VGLT$9,143
Returns run to the Oct 12, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
| Period | VGLT |
|---|---|
| Year to date | −6.8% |
| 1 month | −2.8% |
| 3 months | −5.9% |
| 1 year | −8.6% |
| 3 years | +1.9% |
| 5 years | −7.1% |
| 10 years | −1.8% |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | VGLT |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | −6.8% | |
| 2025 | +5.3% | |
| 2024 | −6.3% | |
| 2023 | +3.3% | |
| 2022 | −29.4% | |
| 2021 | −5.0% | |
| 2020 | +17.6% |
VGLT in the news
VGLT Dividends
- 5.03%
- $2.52
- $0.21 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
VGLT Risk
- 12.4%
How it’s calculated: standard deviation
The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.
- −0.23
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio
Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.
Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.
- −41.0%
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown
The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.
Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.
- 2.25
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
VGLT Cost
0.03%
VGLT0.03%
- The middle half of Treasuries (20+ Year) funds
- Median 0.15%
No Treasuries (20+ Year) fund charges less.
Other funds in Treasuries (20+ Year)
- ABBLBJPMorgan BetaBuilders U.S. Treasury Bond 20+ Year ETFExpense ratio 0.04%1 year return −9.6%
- AEDVVanguard Extended Duration Treasury ETFExpense ratio 0.05%1 year return −16.2%
- BTLTiShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.15%1 year return −9.9%
- BXTWYBondBloxx Bloomberg Twenty Year Target Duration US Treasury ETFExpense ratio 0.13%1 year return −12.6%
- BUTHYUS Treasury 30 Year Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.15%1 year return −9.6%