What is the expense ratio of DVY vs TLT?

DVY has an expense ratio of 0.38%, while TLT has an expense ratio of 0.15%.

DVY vs TLT

iShares Select Dividend ETF vs iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF

Last updated: 2026-04-02

DVY iShares

iShares Select Dividend ETF (DVY) is an exchange-traded fund issued by iShares that provides exposure to U.S. dividend-paying stocks selected for yield or dividend growth. It charges an above-average expense ratio of 0.38%. The fund offers an attractive dividend yield of 3.47%. Launched in 2003, the fund has a 23-year track record.

AUM: $22.0B ER: 0.38% Yield: 3.47% Since: Nov 3, 2003

TLT iShares

iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) is an exchange-traded fund issued by iShares that provides exposure to long-duration U.S. Treasury bonds with high interest rate sensitivity. It charges a low expense ratio of 0.15%. The fund offers a high dividend yield of 4.51%. Launched in 2002, the fund has a 24-year track record.

AUM: $41.7B ER: 0.15% Yield: 4.51% Since: Jul 22, 2002

Quick Verdict

TLT is significantly cheaper at 0.15% vs 0.38% expense ratio, saving you approximately $450 per $10,000 invested over 10 years. Over the past year, DVY has significantly outperformed with a 12.6% return vs -5.7%. Income investors may prefer TLT for its higher yield (4.5% vs 3.5%).

Key Metrics

Metric	DVY	TLT
Expense Ratio	0.38%	0.15%
Dividend Yield	3.5%	4.5%
Fund Family	iShares	iShares
Category	US Dividend	US Long-Term Treasury

Performance Chart

Indexed to 100 at start (5-year comparison)

DVY +30.7%

TLT -37.0%

Performance Comparison

Period	DVY	TLT	Difference
1 Month	-3.15%	-3.74%	+0.59%
3 Months	+5.89%	-0.88%	+6.77%
6 Months	+5.53%	-3.49%	+9.02%
YTD	+5.89%	-0.88%	+6.77%
1 Year	+12.56%	-5.72%	+18.28%
3 Years	+28.73%	-19.08%	+47.81%
5 Years	+30.67%	-37.00%	+67.67%

Fee Impact Over Time

Estimated fee cost difference assuming 8% annual returns

Investment	Period	DVY Fees	TLT Fees	You Save
$10.000	10 years	$748	$298	$450
$10.000	20 years	$3.173	$1.278	$1.895
$10.000	30 years	$10.097	$4.109	$5.988
$50.000	10 years	$3.739	$1.490	$2.249
$50.000	30 years	$50.486	$20.547	$29.939
$100.000	30 years	$100.972	$41.094	$59.878

Risk Metrics

Based on 5 years of daily returns

Metric	DVY	TLT
Annualized Volatility	15.5%	15.9%
Max Drawdown	-22.1%	-46.4%
Sharpe Ratio	0.13	-0.79

Dividend Comparison

Metric	DVY	TLT
Annual Dividend (per share)	$5.24	$3.89
Dividend Yield	3.47%	4.51%
Distribution Frequency	Quarterly	Monthly

Top Holdings

DVY Top Holdings

Name	Weight
Pfizer Inc.PFE	2.33%
Altria Group, Inc.MO	2.17%
Verizon Communications Inc.VZ	2.01%
ONEOK, Inc.OKE	1.93%
Prudential Financial, Inc.PRU	1.81%
T. Rowe Price Group, Inc.TROW	1.75%
LyondellBasell Industries N.V.LYB	1.70%
General Mills, Inc.GIS	1.62%
Edison InternationalEIX	1.60%
Kimberly-Clark CorporationKMB	1.57%

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose TLT if...

you want the lowest fees and plan to buy and hold long-term. Over decades, the expense ratio difference compounds significantly.

Choose DVY if...

recent performance momentum matters to your strategy. Note that past performance doesn't guarantee future results.

Choose TLT if...

you prioritize dividend income and want higher regular distributions from your portfolio.

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