IGOV ETF: fees, returns, drawdowns and holdings

How has IGOV done since 2009?#

IGOVS&P 500 (SPY)Growth of $10,000, log scale, with dividends reinvested. Past results do not tell you what happens next.

From January 2009 to October 2026, IGOV returned about 0.0% a year. The S&P 500 returned about 15.4% a year over the same dates. Say you put in $10,000 at the start. It would have been worth about $10,014 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.

Period	IGOV	S&P 500 (SPY)
1 month	−0.7%	1.5%
3 months	−2.0%	1.9%
6 months	−4.3%	9.3%
Year to date	−3.9%	12.8%
1 year	−5.1%	16.8%
3 years per year	3.2%	22.0%
5 years per year	−4.4%	12.8%
10 years per year	−1.5%	15.4%
Since 2009 per year	0.0%	15.4%

Periods longer than a year show the return per year (CAGR). Prices through October 16, 2026. Figures use daily closing prices adjusted for splits, with dividends reinvested. They do not include taxes or the cost of buying and selling. Past results do not tell you what will happen next.

IGOV returns by month and year#

IGOV rose in 117 of its 213 months (55%). Its best month was November 2022, at 7.9%. Its worst was April 2022, at −7.6%.

Return each month, in percent
Year	Total	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2026	−3.9%	1.8	1.4	−4.5	2.0	0.2	−2.3	0.0	0.5	−3.5	0.7
2025	10.0%	0.4	0.7	1.4	6.3	−0.4	3.2	−3.8	2.3	0.5	−1.0	−0.2	0.4
2024	−6.5%	−3.3	−1.1	0.3	−3.4	1.7	−0.7	3.4	2.9	1.9	−4.0	0.0	−3.8
2023	5.6%	3.7	−5.4	4.7	0.5	−3.0	1.0	0.2	−2.0	−4.4	−1.1	6.4	5.7
2022	−22.1%	−2.6	−1.4	−3.8	−7.6	0.0	−4.7	2.6	−6.6	−6.6	0.9	7.9	−1.7
2021	−9.3%	−1.6	−2.7	−2.5	1.7	1.1	−2.1	1.8	−0.9	−2.6	−0.5	−0.5	−0.8
2020	10.9%	1.0	0.0	−2.7	1.0	0.9	1.3	4.8	0.1	−0.9	0.2	2.5	2.5
2019	3.8%	1.4	−1.1	0.9	−0.7	1.4	3.0	−1.3	2.0	−1.4	0.8	−1.8	0.7
2018	−2.6%	2.6	−0.7	1.5	−2.5	−2.0	−0.3	−0.5	−0.8	−0.8	−1.5	0.5	2.0
2017	11.4%	1.4	0.0	0.5	1.8	2.3	0.6	3.2	1.1	−1.3	−1.0	1.6	0.8
2016	0.9%	1.2	3.1	4.0	1.7	−2.3	3.2	1.3	−1.2	0.8	−4.2	−5.2	−0.8
2015	−7.1%	−2.8	−0.8	−1.8	2.3	−3.5	−0.5	0.0	0.6	0.8	−0.4	−2.5	1.5
2014	−2.2%	0.6	2.2	0.2	1.4	0.0	1.2	−1.4	0.2	−4.2	−0.7	−0.6	−0.9
2013	−1.4%	0.2	−2.7	−0.5	2.3	−3.1	−2.2	2.5	−0.7	2.9	1.4	−1.1	−0.1
2012	5.3%	−1.3	2.7	−1.1	1.3	−3.4	1.0	1.1	2.2	1.7	1.4	−0.9	0.6
2011	1.6%	1.0	0.8	0.8	4.2	−1.7	0.3	1.8	2.0	−4.5	0.6	−4.8	1.6
2010	1.8%	−1.0	0.0	−1.2	−1.3	−3.3	0.8	5.5	0.7	4.8	1.4	−6.7	2.9
2009	10.6%		−2.8	3.3	1.5	4.9	0.2	3.0	1.0	2.5	−0.3	2.6	−5.3

Each month runs from the last close of the month before. The first month counts from the first close.

How risky is IGOV compared with the S&P 500?#

Measured from October 2021 to October 2026, on the days both traded.

Beta 0.17. When the S&P 500 moved 1% in a day, IGOV tended to move about 0.17%.
Correlation 0.30. IGOV moved mostly on its own, apart from the S&P 500.
Up and down months. In months the S&P 500 rose, IGOV rose 26% as much on average. In months it fell, IGOV fell 72% as much.

Measure	IGOV	S&P 500 (SPY)
Return per year	−4.3%	12.8%
Volatility	10.0%	17.1%
Worst drop	−30.9%	−24.5%
Sharpe ratio	-0.39	0.79
Sortino ratio	-0.56	1.15
Calmar ratio	-0.14	0.52

Volatility is how much the price swings in a year. The Sharpe ratio is return per unit of volatility, the Sortino ratio counts only the falls, and the Calmar ratio is the return per year over the worst drop. Higher ratios mean more return for the risk taken.

Is IGOV above its 200-day average?#

IGOV closed 3.2% below its 200-day average on October 16, 2026. A rule that holds IGOV only above that average would be out of it today.

vs 200-day average: −3.2%; below it
50-day vs 200-day: −1.7%; trend falling
vs 52-week high: −6.8%; high of $42.99

A moving average is the average close over the last so many days. Trend rules such as the 10-month moving average strategy hold a fund only while it is above one. You can build that rule for IGOV and backtest it in a minute.

What was IGOV’s worst drop?#

Drawdown: how far IGOV was below its last high on each day.

A drawdown is how far a fund falls from its last high point. IGOV’s worst fall was −35.9%, from January 5, 2021 to October 20, 2022. By October 16, 2026 it had not yet climbed back to that high. On October 16, 2026 it was 26.6% below its highest close.

Drop	From the high	To the bottom	Back to the high
−35.9%	Jan 5, 2021	Oct 20, 202221 months	Not yet
−15.7%	Jul 1, 2014	Nov 10, 201516 months	Mar 26, 20182.4 years
−14.6%	Dec 1, 2009	Jun 7, 20106 months	Oct 6, 20104 months
−11.1%	Mar 9, 2020	Mar 19, 202010 days	Jul 27, 20204 months
−10.9%	Aug 17, 2011	Dec 14, 20114 months	Apr 10, 20142.3 years

Big drops are normal for some funds. They matter because selling during a drop locks in the loss.

What does IGOV hold?#

This fund lends money to the governments of rich countries outside the US by owning their bonds. The bonds are in those countries’ own currencies, so changes in exchange rates affect its value. Bond prices also fall when interest rates rise.

It tracks the FTSE World Government Bond Index - Developed Markets Capped Select Index. It had 981 holdings as of October 15, 2026, according to iShares (BlackRock).

What is the IGOV expense ratio?#

IGOV charges 0.35% a year. An expense ratio is the yearly fee a fund takes to run itself. On $10,000, a 0.35% fee comes to about $35 a year. Of the 162 ETFs on Tactfolio, 19% charge more.

You never get a bill for it. The fund takes the fee out of its own value a little each day.

0.35%

Which Tactfolio strategies hold IGOV?#

One classic strategy holds IGOV at least some of the time. Each is a set of written rules you can open, test and copy.

Paul Novell’s Tactical Bond Strategy, by Paul Novell, 2014

How does IGOV compare with similar ETFs?#

Funds that can stand in for IGOV:

BNDX: Vanguard Total International Bond ETF, 0.07% a year
BWX: State Street SPDR Bloomberg International Treasury Bond ETF, 0.35% a year
EMB: iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF, 0.39% a year
AGG: iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF, 0.03% a year

See all 7 IGOV alternatives, compared on the same dates as IGOV.

Test IGOV in your own rules#

Tactfolio is a platform where you build rules-based investing strategies, backtest them on decades of real prices, share them, and run them automatically in your own Alpaca account. Open the builder, add IGOV, and see how a rule such as “hold it only above its 200-day average” would have done. Strategies run on daily prices and hold US stocks and ETFs only.

The details#

Prices come from Tactfolio’s stored daily prices for IGOV and SPY. Each close is adjusted for splits, and dividends are reinvested on the day the fund pays them out. CAGR is the steady yearly return that turns the starting value into the ending value. Volatility is the yearly standard deviation of daily returns. Beta and correlation compare daily returns with the S&P 500 over the same dates.

Fund facts come from iShares (BlackRock). We checked them on October 16, 2026. Read what a backtest simulates and how to read drawdown and CAGR for more on these measures.

Common questions#

What is the expense ratio of IGOV?#

IGOV charges 0.35% a year, according to iShares (BlackRock) as of October 16, 2026. That is about $35 a year for every $10,000 you hold.

When did IGOV start trading?#

IGOV started trading on January 21, 2009. It is run by iShares (BlackRock).

What does IGOV track?#

IGOV tracks the FTSE World Government Bond Index - Developed Markets Capped Select Index. This fund lends money to the governments of rich countries outside the US by owning their bonds.

How much has IGOV returned per year?#

From January 2009 to October 2026, IGOV returned about 0.0% a year with dividends reinvested. Its worst drop was −35.9%. Past returns do not tell you what it will do next.

Is IGOV above its 200-day moving average?#

On October 16, 2026, IGOV closed 3.2% below its 200-day moving average. This page updates after each US market close.

Which strategies use IGOV?#

One of Tactfolio’s classic strategies hold IGOV, including Paul Novell’s Tactical Bond Strategy.

Sources#

iShares (BlackRock): iShares International Treasury Bond ETF fund page