Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTSara Appino, The Motley FoolSat, June 20, 2026 at 1:20 PM GMT+2 4 min readFidelity Investment Grade Bond ETF (NYSEMKT:FIGB) offers a broader, higher-yielding corporate and government mix, while Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury ETF (NASDAQ:VGIT) provides lower-cost, pure-play exposure to U.S. government debt.Fixed-income investors often choose between the absolute safety of government bonds and the slightly higher yields of investment-grade corporate debt. While both FIGB and VGIT target high-quality bonds, they differ significantly in cost, credit risk, and portfolio breadth.Snapshot (cost & size)MetricVGITFIGBIssuerVanguardFidelityExpense ratio0.03%0.36%1-yr return (as of June 17, 2026)3.1%4.5%Dividend yield3.9%4.1%Beta0.170.25Assets under management (AUM)$49.5 billion$498.6 millionBeta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year monthly returns. The 1-yr return represents total return over the trailing 12 months. Dividend yield is the trailing-12-month distribution yield.The Vanguard fund is the more affordable option, with an expense ratio nearly 12 times lower than its Fidelity counterpart. However, FIGB offers a higher distribution payout, with a 0.24 percentage point yield gap over the Vanguard fund.Performance & risk comparisonMetricVGITFIGBMax drawdown (5 yr)(15.0%)(18.1%)Growth of $1,000 over 5 years (total return)$1,003$1,007What's insideFidelity Investment Grade Bond ETF (NYSEMKT:FIGB) is a fundamental fixed-income option that holds 180 positions, including a mix of U.S. Treasury notes and highly rated corporate debt. The fund was launched in 2021, its portfolio is categorized as 100% cash and others, and it has a trailing-12-month dividend of $1.76 per share.Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury ETF (NASDAQ:VGIT) focuses exclusively on U.S. government debt with 76 holdings. This fund was launched in 2009, is classified as a fixed-income fund with no equity sector breakdown, and paid $2.27 per share over the trailing 12 months.For more guidance on ETF investing, check out the full guide at this link.What this means for investorsThe eye-popping fee gap between these two funds comes down to one fundamental difference in how they are built. VGIT is a passive fund that simply tracks an index of intermediate-term U.S. Treasury bonds at negligible cost. FIGB is actively managed, meaning a team of portfolio managers makes ongoing decisions about which bonds to hold across government debt, corporate bonds, mortgage-backed securities, and asset-backed securities. That expertise costs money, which is why FIGB's expense ratio is more than 10 times higher.Terms and Privacy PolicyEU DSA contactPrivacy & Cookie SettingsMore Info