iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF

TLT

Market cap $41.9B

Artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency and private markets have dominated ETF headlines this year, but one of the industry's fiercest battles is unfolding in a far less glamorous corner of the market: cash.

The U.S. fixed income market experienced a resurgence in investor attention last week, reaching levels not seen since early January, as tracked by VettaFi's Investor Behavior Intelligence (IBI) platform. The sector has seen moderate performance in 2026, driven by resilient economic conditions and elevated yields entering the year.

iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF focuses on corporate debt, while iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF targets long-term government bonds iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF has delivered higher total returns over the trailing 12 months iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF has a larger assets under management (AUM) and a higher maximum drawdown over the last five years

The choice between iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NASDAQ:TLT) and iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF (NASDAQ:IEF) looks trivial on paper.

The Iran war has scrambled the old map of safety, leaving bond investors rethinking which havens still deserve the name. Perhaps the most surprising trend since the conflict began: bank loans have outperformed the rest of the field by a wide margin, based on a set of ETFs through yesterday's close (July 8).

State Street SPDR Portfolio Long Term Corporate Bond ETF offers a significantly lower expense ratio and higher trailing dividend yield than iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF. While iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF focuses on U.S. government debt, State Street SPDR Portfolio Long Term Corporate Bond ETF holds a diversified basket of investment-grade corporate bonds.

Fresh tensions over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital maritime route for 20% of the world's oil, could keep gasoline from falling below the $3 mark.

Retirees who watched intermediate bond funds bleed principal during the 2022 to 2023 rate shock have spent the last few years hunting for fixed income that pays monthly without the duration trap.

The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF faces a rare opportunity after enduring its largest and longest drawdown, losing nearly 48% since 2020. Stubborn inflation and a reset in long-end yields have eroded faith in fixed income, but TLT now offers starting yields four to five times higher than pre-crash levels. Kevin Warsh's appointment as Fed Chair marks a regime change, with a renewed inflation-fighting mandate.

It could have been a big week for bond bears, if it weren't for crude oil.