IEF: iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF

iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEF) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) run by iShares (BlackRock). This fund holds US government bonds that will be paid back in about 7 to 10 years. It charges 0.15% a year. From July 2002 to October 2026 it returned about 3.4% a year, and its worst drop was −23.9%.

Written by the Tactfolio research team. Fund facts checked October 16, 2026. Prices through October 16, 2026.

Yearly fee
0.15%
about $15 on $10,000
Return per year
3.4%
since July 2002
Worst drop
−23.9%
since 2002
Started trading
Jul 2002
iShares (BlackRock)

Key points

  • Expense ratio: 0.15% a year (about $15 on $10,000).
  • Started trading on July 22, 2002.
  • Worst drop since 2002: −23.9%.
  • 35 Tactfolio classic strategies hold it.

What does IEF hold?#

This fund holds US government bonds that will be paid back in about 7 to 10 years. The US Treasury pays interest on these bonds, so the fund pays out income each month. When interest rates go up, the price of these bonds usually goes down.

It tracks the ICE US Treasury 7-10 Year Bond Index. It had 17 holdings as of October 15, 2026, according to iShares (BlackRock).

FactIEF
Full nameiShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF
IssueriShares (BlackRock)
Expense ratio0.15% a year
Started tradingJuly 22, 2002
TracksICE US Treasury 7-10 Year Bond Index
TypeUS bonds, ETF
Holdings17 holdings as of October 15, 2026
Facts checkedOctober 16, 2026 on the iShares (BlackRock) fund page

What is the IEF expense ratio?#

IEF charges 0.15% a year. An expense ratio is the yearly fee a fund takes to run itself. On $10,000, a 0.15% fee comes to about $15 a year.

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

How has IEF done since 2002?#

$10k$20k20032006200920122015201820212024
IEFGrowth of $10,000, log scale, with dividends reinvested. Past results do not tell you what happens next.

From July 2002 to October 2026, IEF returned about 3.4% a year. Say you put in $10,000 at the start. It would have been worth about $22,605 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.

MeasureIEF
Total return126.0%
Return per year (CAGR)3.4%
Worst drop from a high−23.9%
Volatility (how much it swings)6.8%
Last 12 months−3.6%
Last 3 years, per year3.7%
Last 5 years, per year−1.7%
Last 10 years, per year0.4%

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.

IEF returns by year#

YearIEF return
2026 (part of the year)−3.1%
20258.0%
2024−0.6%
20233.6%
2022−15.2%
2021−3.3%
202010.0%
20198.0%
20181.0%
20172.5%
20161.0%
20151.5%
20149.1%
2013−6.1%
20123.7%
201115.7%
20109.4%
2009−6.6%
200817.9%
200710.4%
20062.5%
20052.6%
20044.1%
20035.3%
2002 (part of the year)7.6%

What was IEF’s worst drop?#

0%−10%−20%20032006200920122015201820212024
Drawdown: how far IEF was below its last high on each day.

A drawdown is how far a fund falls from its last high point. IEF’s worst fall was −23.9%, from August 4, 2020 to October 19, 2023. By October 16, 2026 it had not yet climbed back to that high.

The chart shows how far below its last high the fund was on each day. Big drops are normal for some funds. They matter because selling during a drop locks in the loss.

Which Tactfolio strategies hold IEF?#

35 classic strategies hold IEF at least some of the time. Each is a set of written rules you can open, test and copy.

How does IEF compare with similar ETFs?#

Side-by-side pages measure both funds over the same dates:

  • IEF vs TLT: medium-term against long-term US Treasury bonds.

Funds that can stand in for IEF:

  • VGIT: Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury ETF, 0.03% a year
  • AGG: iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF, 0.03% a year
  • BND: Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF, 0.03% a year
  • SCHZ: Schwab U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF, 0.03% a year

See all 8 IEF alternatives, compared on the same dates as IEF.

Test IEF 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 IEF, 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 IEF. 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.

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.

Research and test it

Common questions#

What is the expense ratio of IEF?#

IEF charges 0.15% a year, according to iShares (BlackRock) as of October 16, 2026. That is about $15 a year for every $10,000 you hold.

When did IEF start trading?#

IEF started trading on July 22, 2002. It is run by iShares (BlackRock).

What does IEF track?#

IEF tracks the ICE US Treasury 7-10 Year Bond Index. This fund holds US government bonds that will be paid back in about 7 to 10 years.

How much has IEF returned per year?#

From July 2002 to October 2026, IEF returned about 3.4% a year with dividends reinvested. Its worst drop was −23.9%. Past returns do not tell you what it will do next.

Which strategies use IEF?#

35 of Tactfolio’s classic strategies hold IEF, including Hybrid Asset Allocation (HAA), HAA Simple: Hybrid Asset Allocation with one asset, Bold Asset Allocation (BAA).

Sources#