TLT: iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF
iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) run by iShares (BlackRock). This fund holds US government bonds that will be paid back in more than 20 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 −48.4%.
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
- −48.4%
- 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: −48.4%.
- 27 Tactfolio classic strategies hold it.
What does TLT hold?#
This fund holds US government bonds that will be paid back in more than 20 years. Because the wait is so long, the fund’s price can move a lot when interest rates change. It pays out interest income each month.
It tracks the ICE US Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index. It had 47 holdings as of October 15, 2026, according to iShares (BlackRock).
| Fact | TLT |
|---|---|
| Full name | iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF |
| Issuer | iShares (BlackRock) |
| Expense ratio | 0.15% a year |
| Started trading | July 22, 2002 |
| Tracks | ICE US Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index |
| Type | US bonds, ETF |
| Holdings | 47 holdings as of October 15, 2026 |
| Facts checked | October 16, 2026 on the iShares (BlackRock) fund page |
What is the TLT expense ratio?#
TLT 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 TLT done since 2002?#
From July 2002 to October 2026, TLT 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.
| Measure | TLT |
|---|---|
| Total return | 126.0% |
| Return per year (CAGR) | 3.4% |
| Worst drop from a high | −48.4% |
| Volatility (how much it swings) | 14.2% |
| Last 12 months | −8.3% |
| Last 3 years, per year | 1.8% |
| Last 5 years, per year | −8.0% |
| Last 10 years, per year | −2.1% |
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.
TLT returns by year#
| Year | TLT return |
|---|---|
| 2026 (part of the year) | −5.0% |
| 2025 | 4.3% |
| 2024 | −8.1% |
| 2023 | 2.8% |
| 2022 | −31.2% |
| 2021 | −4.6% |
| 2020 | 18.1% |
| 2019 | 14.1% |
| 2018 | −1.6% |
| 2017 | 9.2% |
| 2016 | 1.2% |
| 2015 | −1.8% |
| 2014 | 27.3% |
| 2013 | −13.4% |
| 2012 | 2.4% |
| 2011 | 34.0% |
| 2010 | 9.0% |
| 2009 | −21.8% |
| 2008 | 34.0% |
| 2007 | 10.3% |
| 2006 | 0.7% |
| 2005 | 8.6% |
| 2004 | 8.7% |
| 2003 | 1.6% |
| 2002 (part of the year) | 11.1% |
What was TLT’s worst drop?#
A drawdown is how far a fund falls from its last high point. TLT’s worst fall was −48.4%, 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 TLT?#
27 classic strategies hold TLT at least some of the time. Each is a set of written rules you can open, test and copy.
- Hybrid Asset Allocation (HAA), by Wouter Keller and JW Keuning, 2023
- Bold Asset Allocation (BAA), by Wouter Keller, 2022
- Defensive Asset Allocation (DAA), by Wouter Keller and JW Keuning, 2018
- Protective Asset Allocation (PAA), by Wouter Keller and JW Keuning, 2016
- Adaptive Asset Allocation (AAA), by Adam Butler, Michael Philbrick, Rodrigo Gordillo, and David Varadi, 2012
- Composite Dual Momentum, by Gary Antonacci, 2012
- Vigilant Asset Allocation G12 (VAA-G12), by Wouter Keller and JW Keuning, 2017
- Bold Asset Allocation G4 (BAA aggressive), by Wouter Keller, 2022
- GTAA 13: Faber’s 13-asset tactical allocation, by Mebane Faber, 2013
- GTAA Aggressive 3 (Faber GTAA AGG3), by Mebane Faber, 2013
- GTAA Aggressive 6 (Faber GTAA AGG6), by Mebane Faber, 2013
- Trinity Portfolio (Meb Faber), by Mebane Faber, 2016
- Mama Bear Portfolio (Muscular Portfolios), by Brian Livingston, 2018
- Papa Bear Portfolio (Muscular Portfolios), by Brian Livingston, 2018
- Defense First (Carlson’s defensive tactical model), by Thomas D. Carlson, 2025
- Paired Switching (quarterly SPY and TLT rotation), by Akhilesh Maewal and Joel R. Bock, 2011
- Quint Switching Filtered (Lewis Glenn’s QSF), by Lewis A. Glenn, 2018
- Accelerating Dual Momentum (ADM), by Engineered Portfolio (Steve Hanly), 2018
- Paul Novell’s Tactical Bond Strategy, by Paul Novell, 2014
- Three-Way Model (Ned Davis Research), by Ned Davis Research, 2015
- Kipnis Defensive Adaptive Asset Allocation (KDA), by Ilya Kipnis, 2019
- All Weather Portfolio (Ray Dalio’s All Seasons), by Ray Dalio and Tony Robbins, 2014
- Harry Browne’s Permanent Portfolio, by Harry Browne, 1999
- Golden Butterfly Portfolio, by Tyler (Portfolio Charts), 2015
- Tactical Risk Rotation (TRRS), by Michael Gayed and Charles Bilello, 2014
- Resilient Asset Allocation (Keller’s RAA), by Wouter J. Keller, 2020
- Bond UI1 (Paul Novell’s unemployment bond strategy), by Paul Novell, 2019
How does TLT 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 TLT:
- VGLT: Vanguard Long-Term Treasury ETF, 0.03% a year
- EDV: Vanguard Extended Duration Treasury ETF, 0.05% a year
- VGIT: Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury ETF, 0.03% a year
- IEF: iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF, 0.15% a year
See all 4 TLT alternatives, compared on the same dates as TLT.
Test TLT 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 TLT, 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 TLT. 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.
Common questions#
What is the expense ratio of TLT?#
TLT 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 TLT start trading?#
TLT started trading on July 22, 2002. It is run by iShares (BlackRock).
What does TLT track?#
TLT tracks the ICE US Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index. This fund holds US government bonds that will be paid back in more than 20 years.
How much has TLT returned per year?#
From July 2002 to October 2026, TLT returned about 3.4% a year with dividends reinvested. Its worst drop was −48.4%. Past returns do not tell you what it will do next.
Which strategies use TLT?#
27 of Tactfolio’s classic strategies hold TLT, including Hybrid Asset Allocation (HAA), Bold Asset Allocation (BAA), Defensive Asset Allocation (DAA).