IGOV vs ISHG: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

iShares International Treasury Bond ETF

IGOVBNasdaq

iShares 1-3 Year International Treasury Bond ETF

ISHGBNasdaq

Overlap

No data

Expense ratio

IGOV0.35%ISHG0.35%

Avg volume · 30D

IGOV 3.8×the volume

IGOV267KISHG70.2K

10Y return · a year

ISHG +1.3pt

IGOV−1.4%ISHG−0.1%

IGOV vs ISHG Performance

Oct 29, 2021 – Oct 30, 2026

−19.3%IGOV−2.8%ISHG

Expense ratio: IGOV 0.35%; ISHG 0.35%
Fund size: IGOV $1.03B; ISHG $832M
1Y total return: IGOV −3.3%; ISHG −0.1%, better
Yield (12M): IGOV 1.46%; ISHG 1.48%, better
Holdings: IGOV 950; ISHG 190
Avg volume (30D): IGOV 267K sh, better; ISHG 70.2K sh
NAV per share: IGOV $40.24; ISHG $73.95
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for IGOV, ISHG, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	IGOV	ISHG
Cost30% weight	C49	C49
Mission25% weight	A99Higher	A84
Risk15% weight	D34	C53Higher
Tradability15% weight	B65Higher	C50
Holdings10% weight	A81Higher	C52
Durability5% weight	B61Higher	C52

Rank among International Sovereign funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. IGOV 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 ›

IGOV ranks 2nd 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

IGOVBiShares International Treasury Bond ETF

ISHGBiShares 1-3 Year International Treasury Bond ETF

In short

IGOV The world's other government bond market in one ticker. IGOV holds developed-market sovereign debt from outside the US, roughly a thousand bonds deep, and has been doing it since 2009.

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

IGOV The fund seeks to track an index containing government bonds from developed markets 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

IGOV A pure ex-US sovereign sleeve: developed-market government bonds only, no US Treasuries mixed in.
Roughly a thousand bonds tracking the FTSE World Government Bond Developed Markets Capped Select index, so no single issuer runs the show.
Live since 2009 and a multi-billion-dollar fund, which is real staying power in a niche this small.
One of the stronger builds in a six-fund cohort, and it does exactly what the label says rather than drifting off-mandate.

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

IGOV The 0.35% fee sits right at the cohort median, matching BWX and ISHG. EBND undercuts it at 0.30%, though on emerging-market local debt instead.
Income arrives annually or semiannually, not monthly, so the cash flow is lumpy by design.
Moderately traded rather than a high-volume name, so order size and spreads matter more here than in mega-cap bond funds.

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 IGOV profile⁠

Full ISHG profile⁠

IGOV vs ISHG Holdings

How IGOV and ISHG differ

No overlap figure

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues.

Level by level

Countryby domicile93.6%
Asset classFixed Income100%

Sector

No Sector split for IGOV.

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in IGOV and ISHG, widest gap first
Country	More in IGOVMore in ISHG	IGOV	ISHG
Japan	IGOV +2.9 points	11.9%	9.0%
Slovakia	IGOV +1.5 points	1.5%	0.0%
Germany	ISHG +1.4 points	6.8%	8.2%
France	ISHG +1.5 points	8.3%	9.8%
Israel	ISHG +1.2 points	3.4%	4.6%
Spain	ISHG +0.8 points	5.0%	5.8%
United Kingdom	IGOV +0.7 points	7.3%	6.6%
Ireland	IGOV +0.6 points	3.0%	2.4%
Other countries (14)	ISHG +0.9 points	52.8%	53.7%

Outside the US: IGOV 90% developed, 10% emerging. ISHG 91% developed, 9% emerging.

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

IGOV3.9%
ISHG15.2%

Securities held

IGOV936
ISHG182

Asset class

IGOV: Fixed Income
ISHG: Fixed Income

Holdings

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues, so this page lists no shared Holdings. IGOV holds 936 securities, ISHG 182.

All 940 IGOV 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.

IGOV vs ISHG Cost

Same expense ratio

$7,126

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

IGOV 0.35%
$7,126
ISHG 0.35%
$7,126

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

IGOV 0.35%
ISHG 0.35%

Year by year

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

Expense ratio

0.35%IGOV
0.35%ISHG

IGOV0.35%ISHG0.35%

0.30%0.50%

Middle half of International Sovereign funds
Median 0.35%

IGOV 2nd cheapest of 6 funds

ISHG 2nd cheapest of 6 funds

IGOV vs ISHG Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): IGOV 1.46%; ISHG 1.48%, better
Payout (12M): IGOV $0.59; ISHG $1.09
Last payment: IGOV $0.59; ISHG $1.09
Ex-dividend: IGOV Dec 19, 2025; ISHG Dec 19, 2025
Paid on: IGOV Dec 24, 2025; ISHG Dec 24, 2025
Frequency: IGOV Annual; ISHG Annual

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

IGOVAnnual · 13 paymentsAll IGOV payments⁠

ISHGAnnual · 6 paymentsAll ISHG payments⁠

IGOV vs ISHG Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

IGOV
ISHG

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: IGOV 9.7%ISHG 7.7%, better
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: IGOV −0.03ISHG 0.05, better
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: IGOV −30.9%ISHG −20.7%, better
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: IGOV 1.42ISHG 0.87; Market = 1

Popular comparisons

IGOVBvsEBNDB
iShares International Treasury Bond ETF · SPDR Bloomberg Emerging Markets Local Bond ETF
Expense ratio
0.35% · 0.30%
Category
ISHGBvsEBNDB
iShares 1-3 Year International Treasury Bond ETF · SPDR Bloomberg Emerging Markets Local Bond ETF
Expense ratio
0.35% · 0.30%
Category
IGOVBvsBWXB
iShares International Treasury Bond ETF · SPDR Bloomberg International Treasury Bond ETF
Expense ratio
0.35% · 0.35%
Category
ISHGBvsBWXB
iShares 1-3 Year International Treasury Bond ETF · SPDR Bloomberg International Treasury Bond ETF
Expense ratio
0.35% · 0.35%
Category
IGOVBvsGGOVD
iShares International Treasury Bond ETF · iShares Global Government Bond USD Hedged Active ETF
Expense ratio
0.35% · 0.39%
Category
ISHGBvsGGOVD
iShares 1-3 Year International Treasury Bond ETF · iShares Global Government Bond USD Hedged Active ETF
Expense ratio
0.35% · 0.39%
Category