BWX vs ISHG: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

SPDR Bloomberg International Treasury Bond ETF

BWXBNYSE Arca

iShares 1-3 Year International Treasury Bond ETF

ISHGBNasdaq

Overlap

No data

Expense ratio

BWX0.35%ISHG0.35%

Avg volume · 30D

BWX 6.9×the volume

BWX481KISHG70.2K

10Y return · a year

ISHG +1.1pt

BWX−1.2%ISHG−0.1%

BWX vs ISHG Performance

Oct 29, 2021 – Oct 30, 2026

−18.0%BWX−2.8%ISHG

Expense ratio: BWX 0.35%; ISHG 0.35%
Fund size: BWX $1.33B; ISHG $832M
1Y total return: BWX −3.5%; ISHG −0.1%, better
Yield (12M): BWX 2.45%, better; ISHG 1.48%
Holdings: BWX 1402; ISHG 190
Avg volume (30D): BWX 481K sh, better; ISHG 70.2K sh
NAV per share: BWX $21.32; ISHG $73.95
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for BWX, ISHG, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	BWX	ISHG
Cost30% weight	C49	C49
Mission25% weight	A98Higher	A84
Risk15% weight	D27	C53Higher
Tradability15% weight	C53Higher	C50
Holdings10% weight	A79Higher	C52
Durability5% weight	B61Higher	C52

Rank among International Sovereign funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. BWX and ISHG are both graded against the same 6 International Sovereign funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

International Sovereign⁠

Category · 6 funds

See all 6 ›

BWX ranks 3rd and ISHG 4th of 6 funds in the International Sovereign Category.

Rank 1BEBNDSPDR Bloomberg Emerging Markets Local Bond ETFScore 69
Rank 2BIGOViShares International Treasury Bond ETFScore 65
Rank 3BBWXSPDR Bloomberg International Treasury Bond ETFScore 62
Rank 4BISHGiShares 1-3 Year International Treasury Bond ETFScore 59
Rank 5DGGOViShares Global Government Bond USD Hedged Active ETFScore 38

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

BWXBSPDR Bloomberg International Treasury Bond ETF

ISHGBiShares 1-3 Year International Treasury Bond ETF

In short

BWX Government bonds from everywhere but here, in their own currencies. BWX has held developed-market sovereign debt since 2007, unhedged, so returns ride the bonds and the exchange rate together.

ISHG Foreign government bonds with the rate risk dialed down. ISHG holds developed-market sovereigns maturing in one to three years, in local currency, so the dollar's direction does more of the talking than the yield curve does.

Stated mandate

BWX The fund seeks to track the Bloomberg Global Treasury ex-US Capped Index, providing exposure to fixed-rate, local-currency sovereign bonds from investment-grade countries outside the United States.

ISHG The fund seeks to track an index of non-U.S. developed-market government bonds with remaining maturities between one and three years.

Why people hold it

BWX Broad by design: roughly 1,400 sovereign bonds tracking the Bloomberg Global Treasury ex-US Capped Index, where the cap keeps one government from swallowing the portfolio.ssga.com
Index tracking is tight, and the 0.35% fee is the going rate in this corner (IGOV and ISHG charge the same).
A 2007 launch, a billion-dollar-plus asset base and steady daily trading give it more history and depth than most funds in a thin category.
Income arrives monthly rather than quarterly.

ISHG The whole point is the short end: only non-US developed government bonds with one to three years left to run, which keeps interest-rate sensitivity modest.ishares.com
Index rules do real work: investment-grade sovereigns only, US excluded, and each country capped at 21% of the index, so no single government runs away with it.ftserussell.com
Running since 2009 under the iShares roof, spreading a couple hundred sovereign bonds across Japan, Europe and other developed issuers.
Tracking has been tight: the fund has hugged its FTSE benchmark closely rather than drifting from it.

Worth knowing

BWX The bonds are priced in yen, euros and other local currencies with no hedge, so dollar moves show up in your return alongside the bond math.ssga.com
Broad global government indexes carry real interest-rate sensitivity: when yields move, prices move with them.
Investment-grade sovereigns only. Emerging-market local debt is a separate mandate (EBND).

ISHG The bonds are local-currency and unhedged, so exchange-rate moves flow straight through. At these maturities, the yen and euro can matter more than the coupons.ftserussell.com ishares.com
0.35% a year sits right at the median for international treasury funds, matching IGOV and BWX, so cost is not the tiebreaker here.
It is a mid-size, moderately traded fund, not a headline name, and it pays out only once or twice a year rather than monthly.

Full BWX profile⁠

Full ISHG profile⁠

BWX vs ISHG Holdings

How BWX and ISHG differ

No overlap figure

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues.

Level by level

Countryby domicile63.6%
Asset classFixed Income100%

Sector

No Sector split for BWX.

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in BWX and ISHG, widest gap first
Country	More in BWXMore in ISHG	BWX	ISHG
Japan	BWX +14.3 points	23.3%	9.0%
France	ISHG +5.0 points	4.8%	9.8%
China	BWX +4.6 points	4.6%	0.0%
Czech Republic	BWX +3.7 points	3.7%	0.0%
Germany	ISHG +3.6 points	4.6%	8.2%
Israel	ISHG +3.5 points	1.1%	4.6%
Italy	ISHG +3.5 points	4.5%	8.0%
Portugal	ISHG +3.2 points	1.4%	4.6%
Other countries (27)	ISHG +4.0 points	51.9%	55.9%

Outside the US: BWX 73% developed, 27% emerging. ISHG 91% developed, 9% emerging.

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

BWX2.9%
ISHG15.2%

Securities held

BWX1,371
ISHG182

Asset class

BWX: Fixed Income
ISHG: Fixed Income

Holdings

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues, so this page lists no shared Holdings. BWX holds 1,371 securities, ISHG 182.

All 1,443 BWX holdings⁠All 182 ISHG holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

BWX vs ISHG Cost

Same expense ratio

$7,126

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

BWX 0.35%
$7,126
ISHG 0.35%
$7,126

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

BWX 0.35%
ISHG 0.35%

Year by year

Year	BWX	ISHG
10	$634	$634
20	$2,454	$2,454
30	$7,126	$7,126

Expense ratio

0.35%BWX
0.35%ISHG

BWX0.35%ISHG0.35%

0.30%0.50%

Middle half of International Sovereign funds
Median 0.35%

BWX 2nd cheapest of 6 funds

ISHG 2nd cheapest of 6 funds

BWX vs ISHG Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): BWX 2.45%, better; ISHG 1.48%
Payout (12M): BWX $0.53; ISHG $1.09
Last payment: BWX $0.04; ISHG $1.09
Ex-dividend: BWX Oct 1, 2026; ISHG Dec 19, 2025
Paid on: BWX Oct 6, 2026; ISHG Dec 24, 2025
Frequency: BWX Monthly; ISHG Annual

Distribution history

Per share, 2023 to 2026, same scale for both

BWXMonthly · 45 paymentsAll BWX payments⁠

ISHGAnnual · 3 paymentsAll ISHG payments⁠

BWX vs ISHG Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

BWX
ISHG

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: BWX 9.3%ISHG 7.7%, better
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: BWX −0.12ISHG 0.05, better
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: BWX −28.7%ISHG −20.7%, better
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: BWX 1.39ISHG 0.87; Market = 1

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