TLT
iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT)
TLT (iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF) charges a 0.15% expense ratio. On a $10,000 investment that is about $15.00 per year in fund fees, or about $150 per year on $100,000. The fee is deducted automatically from the fund's value, not billed separately. See how expense ratios work →
Performance (data as of Jul 14, 2026): YTD +0.9% · 1-year -1.3% · 3-year -1.1% annualized · 5-year -7.3% annualized. Dividend yield 4.53%. $41.1B in assets. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Despite the Treasury label, TLT is not safe ballast. It is a bet on interest rates. Twenty-plus-year bonds swing hard: down roughly 40% from 2020 to 2023 as rates rose, up sharply when they fall. TLT belongs in a portfolio as a deliberate rate hedge, not as the stable bond allocation.
✓ Who it's actually for
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Editorial opinion based on documented fund characteristics, not personalized investment advice. ETF BFF is not a registered investment advisor.
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📈 Performance history
Annualized where notedReturns are price-based and exclude dividend reinvestment. Total return will typically be higher by approximately the fund's annual yield. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
How does this ETF stack up against the competition?
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Top Holdings
| US Treasury 4.750% 2053 | 2.3% |
| US Treasury 4.125% 2032 | 2.1% |
| US Treasury 3.875% 2040 | 2.0% |
| US Treasury 4.000% 2052 | 1.8% |
| US Treasury 3.625% 2053 | 1.7% |
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What you actually own
🛡️ Risk and volatility
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❓ Questions people actually ask about this ETF
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TLT's expense ratio is 0.15% per year. On a $10,000 investment, that is roughly $15.00 per year in fund fees, automatically deducted from the fund's NAV, not billed separately. What expense ratios cover, and what a good one looks like →
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Despite the Treasury label, TLT is not safe ballast. It is a bet on interest rates. Twenty-plus-year bonds swing hard: down roughly 40% from 2020 to 2023 as rates rose, up sharply when they fall. TLT belongs in a portfolio as a deliberate rate hedge, not as the stable bond allocation. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Educational only, not personalized investment advice. ETF BFF is not a registered investment advisor.
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TLT returned -1.3% over the trailing 12 months. Past performance does not guarantee future results. ETF returns fluctuate with market conditions. Educational only, not personalized investment advice.
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TLT (iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF) has $41.1B in assets under management. AUM is a measure of fund size and liquidity. Larger funds generally have tighter bid-ask spreads and are less likely to close. It is not a measure of quality or expected returns.
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TLT has a trailing 12-month dividend yield of 4.53%. ETF dividends are paid to shareholders based on distributions collected from the underlying holdings. Dividend payments are not guaranteed and can vary each quarter based on fund holdings and market conditions. Educational only, not personalized investment advice.
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Use the ETF BFF comparison tool at etfbff.com/research/compare/ to run a side-by-side analysis of TLT against similar ETFs, covering expense ratios, holdings overlap, performance history, and our plain-English verdict on which one fits your goals.
All answers are educational and general in nature, not personal financial advice. Always verify data with the fund issuer and do your own research before investing.