SGOV vs BIL: Returns, Drawdowns and Dividends Since 2020
SGOV (iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF) and BIL (State Street SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF) barely moved: their prices swung 0.2% and 0.3% a year. SGOV came out ahead, returning 3.0% a year with dividends reinvested from May 2020 to November 2026, against 2.9% for BIL.
Bought on any day and held five years, SGOV finished ahead 100% of the time.
| Measure | SGOV | BIL |
|---|---|---|
| Annual return | 3.0% | 2.9% |
| $10,000 grew to | $12,093 | $12,001 |
| Worst decline | −0.0%Aug 2022 | −0.1%Feb 2022 |
| Volatility Volatility How much the fund's daily returns swing: their standard deviation over this period, annualized with the square root of 252 trading days. | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| Sharpe ratio Sharpe ratio Return above T-bills for each unit of risk: daily returns minus the T-bill ETF BIL, averaged, divided by their standard deviation and annualized. Higher is better. T-bill funds show none. Sharpe ratio calculator | — | — |
| 12-month yield 12-month yield Cash dividends with ex-dividend dates in the past 12 months, divided by the latest closing price. | 3.6% | 3.7% |
| Best year | +5.3%2024 | +5.2%2024 |
| Worst year | +0.1%2021 | −0.1%2021 |
| Correlation between them Correlation How closely the two funds' daily returns moved together over this period: 1 means identical every day, 0 means no relation. | 0.690 | |
SGOV: iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETFBIL: State Street SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF
May 28, 2020 to Nov 4, 2026, dividends reinvested.
Hover or use the arrow keys to read any day.Tap or drag across the chart to read any day.
Worst declines
SGOV fell 0.0% from Aug 22, 2022 to Aug 23, 2022 and was back at its high on Aug 25, 2022. BIL fell 0.1% from Jun 1, 2020 to Feb 14, 2022 and was back at its high on Jun 30, 2022.
Hover or use the arrow keys to read any day.Tap or drag across the chart to read any day.
Year by year
SGOV was ahead in 7 of the 7 calendar years.
| Year | SGOV | BIL | Ahead (pts) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to Nov 4) | +3.1% | +3.0% | SGOV+0.1 |
| 2025 | +4.2% | +4.1% | SGOV+0.1 |
| 2024 | +5.3% | +5.2% | SGOV+0.1 |
| 2023 | +5.1% | +4.9% | SGOV+0.2 |
| 2022 | +1.6% | +1.4% | SGOV+0.2 |
| 2021 | +0.1% | −0.1% | SGOV+0.1 |
| 2020 (from May 28) | +0.0% | −0.0% | SGOV+0.1 |
Held for 1, 3 or 5 years: which came out ahead
Buy on any trading day from May 28, 2020, hold for a set time, and see which fund ended higher. The periods overlap, so they show how much the start date mattered, not separate results.
| Hold | Days tested | Ahead more often | Median lead (pts) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year | 1,367 | SGOV100% | +0.1 |
| 3 years | 863 | SGOV100% | +0.5 |
| 5 years | 359 | SGOV100% | +0.7 |
Median lead is the typical gap in total return across all start dates, in percentage points. The latest 5-year hold starts on Oct 27, 2021.
Dividends
Over the past 12 months SGOV paid 3.6% of its price in dividends and BIL 3.7%. The returns above already include them, reinvested on each ex-dividend date.
Dividends per share by year
| Year | SGOV | BIL |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to Nov 4) | $3.01 10 payments | $2.71 10 payments |
| 2025 | $4.12 12 payments | $3.77 12 payments |
| 2024 | $5.12 12 payments | $4.60 12 payments |
| 2023 | $4.88 12 payments | $4.50 12 payments |
| 2022 | $1.45 12 payments | $1.24 9 payments |
| 2021 | $0.03 11 payments | — |
| 2020 (from May 28) | $0.05 7 payments | $0.00 1 payment |
Per share in today's shares (earlier amounts are restated for share splits), by ex-dividend date.
The two funds
- SGOV
- iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF, an ETF launched May 26, 2020. FinLab prices start May 28, 2020.
- SGOV price and signal backtests
- BIL
- State Street SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF, an ETF launched May 30, 2007. FinLab prices start Jan 4, 2016.
- BIL price and signal backtests
More comparisons
Source: FinLab U.S. fund prices, May 28, 2020 to Nov 4, 2026, the days both funds traded. Returns use prices adjusted for dividends and splits, before taxes; annual return is compounded.
For research and education. Past returns do not guarantee future results, and this is not investment advice.