LQD vs USIG: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF

LQDANYSE Arca

iShares Broad USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF

USIGANasdaq

Overlap

No data

Expense ratio

USIG −0.10pt a year

LQD0.14%USIG0.04%

Avg volume · 30D

LQD 14.4×the volume

LQD31MUSIG2.16M

10Y return · a year

USIG +0.2pt

LQD+2.1%USIG+2.3%

LQD vs USIG Performance

Oct 29, 2021 – Oct 30, 2026

−4.4%LQD+0.8%USIG

Expense ratio: LQD 0.14%; USIG 0.04%, better
Fund size: LQD $32B; USIG $18B
1Y total return: LQD −1.8%; USIG −0.4%, better
Yield (12M): LQD 4.84%; USIG 4.92%, better
Holdings: LQD 3192; USIG 11595
Avg volume (30D): LQD 31M sh, better; USIG 2.16M sh
NAV per share: LQD $104.16; USIG $49.53
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for LQD, USIG, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	LQD	USIG
Cost30% weight	A85	A98Higher
Mission25% weight	A93	A100Higher
Risk15% weight	D33	C48Higher
Tradability15% weight	A82	A95Higher
Holdings10% weight	A90	A97Higher
Durability5% weight	A94Higher	A92

Rank among Investment Grade Corporate funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. LQD and USIG are both graded against the same 49 Investment Grade Corporate funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Investment Grade Corporate⁠

Category · 49 funds

See all 49 ›

USIG ranks 1st and LQD 6th of 49 funds in the Investment Grade Corporate Category.

Rank 1AUSIGiShares Broad USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETFScore 90
Rank 2ASPBOState Street SPDR Portfolio Corporate Bond ETFScore 89
Rank 6AIGEBiShares Investment Grade Systematic Bond ETFScore 79
Rank 6ALQDiShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETFScore 79
Rank 6ASKORNorthern Trust Credit-Scored US Corporate Bond ETFScore 79

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

LQDAiShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF

USIGAiShares Broad USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF

In short

LQD One of the first bond ETFs ever launched (2002) and still the ticker traders reach for on corporate credit. Its index takes only big, widely held investment-grade bonds, so you own the liquid end of the market.

USIG Most investment-grade corporate bond funds hand you one slice of the maturity curve. USIG takes the whole thing, thousands of US dollar corporate bonds from short-dated to long, for four basis points a year.

Stated mandate

LQD The fund seeks to track an index of U.S. dollar-denominated investment-grade corporate bonds.

USIG The fund seeks to track an index of U.S. dollar-denominated investment-grade corporate bonds.

Why people hold it

LQD Costs 0.14% a year, under the 0.19% median for investment-grade corporate bond funds in its group.
The index is a liquidity filter: bonds need $750M+ outstanding from issuers with $2B+ of debt, and no single issuer gets more than 3% of the basket.ihs.com
Running since 2002 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund that trades heavily, so getting in and out is rarely the hard part.
Tracks its benchmark closely, which is the entire job of an index bond fund, and pays interest monthly.

USIG Costs 0.04% a year, against a category median near 0.19%. CORP, which tracks the same ICE BofA US Corporate Index, charges 0.41%.
One ticker, the full USD investment-grade corporate curve: thousands of bonds, short to long. Slice funds like IGSB (1-5 year) and IGIB (5-10 year) each cover one segment.ishares.com
Running since 2007, it has tracked its index with very little drift and is one of the more actively traded funds in its category.
Interest lands monthly, and this is a multi-billion-dollar fund that ranks among the strongest implementations in its peer group.

Worth knowing

LQD Rivals run cheaper: VCIT, USIG, SPIB, IGIB and IGSB all charge 0.03% to 0.04%. You pay up here for the liquid-index rules and the trading depth.
The index holds bonds with at least three years left and no maturity ceiling, so long-dated debt is in the mix and prices swing more when rates move.ihs.com
This is corporate credit, not Treasuries. The rating floor is the bottom rung of investment grade (BBB-/Baa3), so credit spreads are part of the ride.ihs.com

USIG Owning the whole curve means long-dated bonds ride along, so the price swings more when rates move than a short-maturity slice such as IGSB.
This is corporate credit, not Treasuries. Investment grade at purchase, but prices can fall when spreads widen or an issuer is downgraded.ishares.com
VCIT edges it on fee at 0.03%, though that fund stays in intermediate maturities rather than the full curve.

Full LQD profile⁠

Full USIG profile⁠

LQD vs USIG Holdings

How LQD and USIG differ

No overlap figure

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues.

Level by level

Sector20 Sectors85.8%
Countryby domicile91.0%
Asset classFixed Income100%

Sector

Sector weights in LQD and USIG, widest gap first
Sector	More in LQDMore in USIG	LQD	USIG
Communications	LQD +5.0 points	12.5%	7.5%
Electric	USIG +4.5 points	5.1%	9.6%
Health Care	LQD +4.5 points	13.8%	9.3%
Owned No Guarantee	USIG +2.4 points	0.1%	2.5%
Insurance	USIG +2.0 points	5.1%	7.1%
Banking	LQD +2.0 points	26.7%	24.7%
Energy	LQD +1.5 points	9.2%	7.7%
Reits	USIG +1.5 points	1.0%	2.5%
Basic Industry	USIG +1.2 points	1.9%	3.1%
Consumer Discretionary	LQD +0.9 points	8.8%	7.9%
Finance Companies	USIG +0.6 points	0.9%	1.5%
Natural Gas	USIG +0.6 points	0.3%	0.9%
Brokerage/Asset Managers/Exchanges	USIG +0.5 points	1.3%	1.8%
Transportation	USIG +0.5 points	1.6%	2.1%
Consumer Non-Cyclical	LQD +0.4 points	6.1%	5.7%
Capital Goods	USIG +0.3 points	5.5%	5.8%
Sovereign	USIG +0.1 points	0.0%	0.1%
Local Government No Guarantee	Same weight	0.0%	0.0%
Government Sponsored	Same weight	0.0%	0.0%
Real Estate	Same weight	0.0%	0.0%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in LQD and USIG, widest gap first
Country	More in LQDMore in USIG	LQD	USIG
United States	LQD +8.6 points	88.1%	79.5%
France	USIG +1.3 points	0.4%	1.7%
Cayman Islands	USIG +1.2 points	0.0%	1.2%
Canada	USIG +0.6 points	2.4%	3.0%
Other countries (34)	USIG +5.6 points	9.1%	14.7%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

LQD2.0%
USIG0.9%

Securities held

LQD3,189
USIG11,584

Asset class

LQD: Fixed Income
USIG: Fixed Income

Holdings

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues, so this page lists no shared Holdings. LQD holds 3,189 securities, USIG 11,584.

All 3,212 LQD holdings⁠All 11,630 USIG 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.

LQD vs USIG Cost

Overpaying LQD vs USIG

$2,083

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

LQD 0.14%
$2,932
USIG 0.04%
$849

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

LQD 0.14%
USIG 0.04%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	LQD	USIG	Overpaying
10	$256	$73	$183
20	$1,000	$288	$712
30	$2,932	$849	$2,083

Expense ratio

0.14%LQD
0.04%USIG, cheaper

USIG0.04%LQD0.14%

0.03%0.53%

Middle half of Investment Grade Corporate funds
Median 0.25%

USIG 3rd cheapest of 49 funds

LQD 8th cheapest of 49 funds

LQD vs USIG Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): LQD 4.84%; USIG 4.92%, better
Payout (12M): LQD $5.05; USIG $2.44
Last payment: LQD $0.44; USIG $0.21
Ex-dividend: LQD Oct 1, 2026; USIG Oct 1, 2026
Paid on: LQD Oct 6, 2026; USIG Oct 6, 2026
Frequency: LQD Monthly; USIG Monthly

Distribution history

Per share, 2023 to 2026, same scale for both

LQDMonthly · 45 paymentsAll LQD payments⁠

USIGMonthly · 45 paymentsAll USIG payments⁠

LQD vs USIG Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

LQD
USIG

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: LQD 7.7%USIG 6.1%, better
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: LQD 0.26USIG 0.34, better
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: LQD −24.5%USIG −21.1%, better
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: LQD 1.34USIG 1.04; Market = 1

LQD and USIG in the news

All news⁠

Best ETFs
Best bond ETFs: LQD, HYG and TLT cost more than the funds beside them
Updated Oct 2, 2026LQDUSIG
Best ETFs
Best bond ETFs for a portfolio hold the whole investment-grade market
Updated Nov 2, 2026USIG
Bonds & Rates
A 7- to 10-year Treasury fund rose more than the long-bond fund
Oct 31, 2026LQD
Bonds & Rates
The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 5%, and a December Fed hike is still priced
Oct 24, 2026LQD
New ETFs
Defiance advertised a different AIBN index than it filed, and MayTech dropped its foreign-stock minimum
Oct 21, 2026LQD
The Big Picture
The 10-year yield fell 15 basis points in a hot inflation week
Oct 17, 2026LQD

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LQD vs USIG

In short

Stated mandate

Why people hold it