SGOV vs BND

These two are often compared but play different roles: SGOV is a cash alternative, BND is a broad bond fund with meaningful interest-rate and credit exposure.

By the SGOVResource.com editorial team Last reviewed Oct 24, 2026 Data refreshed Oct 24, 2026 How we calculate Editorial policy

Short answer: SGOV holds only Treasury bills maturing within about three months, so its price barely moves and its income follows short-term rates. BND holds thousands of Treasury, mortgage-backed and corporate bonds with an intermediate duration, so its price falls when rates rise and rises when they fall. Use SGOV for cash you may need soon; BND is a long-term bond allocation.

SGOV vs BND side by side

SGOV vs BND key facts
	SGOV iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF	BND Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF
Type	Exchange-traded fund	Exchange-traded fund
Provider	iShares (BlackRock)	Vanguard
What it holds	US Treasury bills	Broad US investment-grade bonds: Treasuries, agency MBS, corporate bonds
Maturity / rate reset	0–3 months (ICE 0-3 Month US Treasury Securities Index (USD)); weighted avg. 0.12 yrs	Intermediate; duration of roughly 6 years (check Vanguard for the current figure)
Expense ratio	0.09% (issuer, auto-updated)	0.03% (secondary source — verify)
Current yield	3.76% 30-day SEC yield (Oct 22, 2026)	See issuer page (we don’t show peer yields without a licensed live source)
Income paid	Monthly	Monthly
Price behavior	Trades on an exchange near $100; rises slowly through the month, drops on each ex-date.	Meaningfully rate-sensitive: when rates rise ~1 percentage point, the price can fall several percent.
State income tax	95.14% of 2025 income came from US government obligations (iShares); generally state-exempt in most states.	Only the Treasury portion of income is generally state-exempt; corporate and MBS income is fully taxable.
Protection	Not FDIC insured. Holdings backed by the full faith and credit of the US government; shares can lose value.	Not FDIC insured. Includes corporate credit risk and interest-rate risk.

SGOV figures: iShares, retrieved Oct 24, 2026. BND figures: Vanguard, checked Oct 24, 2026. Verify current figures with each provider before investing.

Interest-rate risk, in numbers

Duration estimates how much a bond fund’s price changes for a 1 percentage point move in rates. SGOV’s effective duration is 0.12 years, so a 1-point rate rise would lower its holdings’ value by about 0.12%, which is recovered within weeks as bills mature. BND’s duration is several years, so the same rate rise could cost it several percent, recovered only over years of higher income.

Credit risk

SGOV owns only US Treasury debt. BND includes corporate bonds and agency mortgage-backed securities, which pay more because they carry more risk.

Taxes

Most of SGOV’s income is generally exempt from state tax. Only BND’s Treasury portion is; its corporate and mortgage income is fully taxable at the state level.

Frequently asked questions

Is SGOV a replacement for BND?

Not really. SGOV is a cash substitute; BND is a core bond holding. BND can rise in value when interest rates fall, which is why investors use it to diversify stocks. SGOV cannot do that because its bills mature too quickly to gain from falling rates.

Which is safer, SGOV or BND?

SGOV has far less interest-rate risk (effective duration 0.12 years) and no corporate credit risk. BND can lose several percent of its value in a year of sharply rising rates, as it did in 2022. Over long periods, BND has the potential to earn more because it takes those risks.

Why do people compare SGOV vs BND?

When short-term rates are as high as or higher than longer-term rates, SGOV can yield about the same as BND with much less volatility, so investors ask whether to hold bonds at all. The answer depends on whether you need the diversification BND offers during stock market declines.

Educational information only. SGOVResource.com is independent and not affiliated with BlackRock or iShares. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell any security or individualized tax advice. Estimates depend on the assumptions shown and actual results will differ. Read the fund’s prospectus before investing. Disclaimer.