IEF vs SCHR

IEFBiShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF

SCHRASchwab Intermediate-Term U.S. Treasury ETF

In short

IEF Since 2002, one clean slice of the Treasury curve: government bonds maturing in seven to ten years, nothing shorter, nothing longer. It is among the most actively traded funds in its category.

SCHR The belly of the Treasury curve for three basis points. Since 2010, SCHR has tracked the Bloomberg US Treasury 3-10 Year Index: government paper only, no corporate credit, income paid monthly.

Stated mandate

IEF The fund seeks to track the ICE U.S. Treasury 7-10 Year Bond Index, which represents publicly issued U.S. Treasury obligations with remaining maturities from seven through ten years.

SCHR The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the total return of an index measuring the intermediate-term U.S. Treasury bond market.

Why people hold it

• IEF The mandate is narrow on purpose: Treasuries maturing in seven to ten years. Broad 3-10 year rivals like VGIT blend in shorter paper, so this is intermediate duration undiluted.vanguard.com
• Running since 2002 and now one of the largest, most heavily traded funds in its corner of the bond market, which tends to show up as tight spreads on screen.
• Tracking has been close: the fund has stayed near its ICE index rather than drifting, and it hands cash back monthly.
• Pure US government paper, so the portfolio carries no corporate credit risk and no currency exposure.

• SCHR Charges 0.03% a year, a fraction of the 0.15% median for intermediate Treasury funds. In a corner of the market where yields do the heavy lifting, fee drag matters.
• Does exactly what the label says: about 100 US Treasury notes, tracking the Bloomberg US Treasury 3-10 Year Index with very tight fidelity. No credit sleeve, no derivatives detour.schwabassetmanagement.com
• Pays monthly, and it is an actively traded, multi-billion-dollar fund, which puts it among the more established options in the 3-10 year Treasury aisle.
• One of the strongest implementations in its peer group, matching SPTI at the bottom of the fee table and undercutting BBIB and the BondBloxx target-duration funds.

Worth knowing

• IEF At 0.15% a year, this is not the budget door. The cohort median is nearer 0.12%, and VGIT, SPTI and SCHR all charge 0.03%. The premium buys scale and liquidity, not cheapness.
• Seven to ten year bonds react more sharply to rate moves than short-dated Treasuries, so price swings can be real even with government credit behind them.ishares.com
• No corporates, no foreign debt, no shorter maturities. Anyone wanting one all-in-one bond sleeve is only getting a single segment of the curve here.

• SCHR Intermediate maturities carry real rate sensitivity. When yields rise, prices on 3-10 year Treasuries fall, and this fund holds the full move.
• Treasuries only. You get no credit spread from corporate or mortgage bonds, which is the point for some investors and a limit for others.schwabassetmanagement.com
• SPTI runs the same 0.03% fee on the same slice of the curve, so the choice often comes down to brokerage plumbing rather than the funds themselves.

Full IEF profile⁠

Full SCHR profile⁠