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Vanguard Canadian Long-Term Bond Index ETF (VLB.TO) Alternatives

ETF · Currency in CAD · Last updated Jul 22, 2026

The Vanguard Canadian Long-Term Bond Index ETF seeks to track the performance of a broad Canadian bond index with a long-term dollar weighted average maturity, investing primarily in public, investment-grade fixed income securities issued in Canada.

Vanguard Canadian Long-Term Bond Index ETF (VLB.TO) belongs to the Long-Term Bond category. Below you'll find alternative ETFs from the same category, ranked by key criteria, plus funds that investors commonly compare with VLB.TO. Use the tables to find lower-cost options, better risk-adjusted returns, or a closer substitute for your current allocation.

Cheapest Alternatives to VLB.TO

VLB.TO charges 0.15% annually. No ETFs in the Long-Term Bond category have lower expense ratios; the lowest-cost alternatives shown here go as low as 0.18%.

SymbolNameExpense RatioAUMInception
XTLT.TO
iShares 20+ Year U.S. Treasury Bond Index ETF0.18%—Feb 2023VLB.TO vs XTLT.TO
XTLH.TO
iShares 20+ Year U.S. Treasury Bond Index ETF (CAD...0.18%—Feb 2023VLB.TO vs XTLH.TO
ZTL.NEO
BMO Long-Term US Treasury Bond Index ETF0.23%—Feb 2017VLB.TO vs ZTL.NEO
ZLC.TO
BMO Long Corporate Bond Index ETF0.33%281.81MJan 2010VLB.TO vs ZLC.TO

Best Risk-Adjusted Alternatives to VLB.TO

VLB.TO has a PortfoliosLab risk / return rank of 19. There are 3 ETFs in the Long-Term Bond category with higher risk-adjusted ranks, going as high as 22.

SymbolNameRisk / Return RankAUMInception
TULB.TO
TD U.S. Long Term Treasury Bond ETF
22
254.46MNov 2019VLB.TO vs TULB.TO
ZLC.TO
BMO Long Corporate Bond Index ETF
22
281.81MJan 2010VLB.TO vs ZLC.TO
ZTL.NEO
BMO Long-Term US Treasury Bond Index ETF
20
—Feb 2017VLB.TO vs ZTL.NEO
XTLT.TO
iShares 20+ Year U.S. Treasury Bond Index ETF
16
—Feb 2023VLB.TO vs XTLT.TO
XTLH.TO
iShares 20+ Year U.S. Treasury Bond Index ETF (CAD...
10
—Feb 2023VLB.TO vs XTLH.TO

Top Performing VLB.TO Alternatives (YTD)

VLB.TO is at 0.79% YTD. There are 3 ETFs in the Long-Term Bond category with higher YTD returns, going as high as 0.93%.

SymbolNameYTD ReturnAUMInception
XTLT.TO
iShares 20+ Year U.S. Treasury Bond Index ETF
0.93%
—Feb 2023VLB.TO vs XTLT.TO
TULB.TO
TD U.S. Long Term Treasury Bond ETF
0.89%
254.46MNov 2019VLB.TO vs TULB.TO
ZTL.NEO
BMO Long-Term US Treasury Bond Index ETF
0.89%
—Feb 2017VLB.TO vs ZTL.NEO
ZLC.TO
BMO Long Corporate Bond Index ETF
0.41%
281.81MJan 2010VLB.TO vs ZLC.TO
XTLH.TO
iShares 20+ Year U.S. Treasury Bond Index ETF (CAD...
-2.71%
—Feb 2023VLB.TO vs XTLH.TO

Lowest Volatility Alternatives to VLB.TO

VLB.TO has 8.30% 1-year volatility. There is 1 ETF in the Long-Term Bond category with lower 1-year volatility, going as low as 7.15%.

SymbolNameVolatility 1YAUMInception
ZLC.TO
BMO Long Corporate Bond Index ETF7.15%281.81MJan 2010VLB.TO vs ZLC.TO
TULB.TO
TD U.S. Long Term Treasury Bond ETF9.34%254.46MNov 2019VLB.TO vs TULB.TO
XTLH.TO
iShares 20+ Year U.S. Treasury Bond Index ETF (CAD...9.45%—Feb 2023VLB.TO vs XTLH.TO
ZTL.NEO
BMO Long-Term US Treasury Bond Index ETF9.67%—Feb 2017VLB.TO vs ZTL.NEO
XTLT.TO
iShares 20+ Year U.S. Treasury Bond Index ETF10.19%—Feb 2023VLB.TO vs XTLT.TO

Lowest Drawdown Alternatives to VLB.TO

VLB.TO has a 1-year max drawdown of -4.90%. There is 1 ETF in the Long-Term Bond category with a shallower 1-year drawdown, going as shallow as -4.64%.

SymbolNameMax Drawdown 1YAUMInception
ZLC.TO
BMO Long Corporate Bond Index ETF
-4.64%
281.81MJan 2010VLB.TO vs ZLC.TO
XTLH.TO
iShares 20+ Year U.S. Treasury Bond Index ETF (CAD...
-8.37%
—Feb 2023VLB.TO vs XTLH.TO
TULB.TO
TD U.S. Long Term Treasury Bond ETF
-8.51%
254.46MNov 2019VLB.TO vs TULB.TO
ZTL.NEO
BMO Long-Term US Treasury Bond Index ETF
-9.01%
—Feb 2017VLB.TO vs ZTL.NEO
XTLT.TO
iShares 20+ Year U.S. Treasury Bond Index ETF
-10.26%
—Feb 2023VLB.TO vs XTLT.TO

Other ETFs from Vanguard

The 10 most viewed Vanguard ETFs shown here include VFV.TO, VDY.TO, VEQT.TO and span 7 categories. AUM among these funds goes as high as $34B.

SymbolNameCategoryRisk / Return RankYTD ReturnAUMInception
VFV.TO
Vanguard S&P 500 Index ETFS&P 500
79
13.25%
34.09BNov 2012VLB.TO vs VFV.TO
VDY.TO
Vanguard FTSE Canadian High Dividend Yield Index E...Dividend
99
28.56%
8.59BNov 2012VLB.TO vs VDY.TO
VEQT.TO
Vanguard All-Equity ETF PortfolioGlobal Equities
87
13.85%
15.67BJan 2019VLB.TO vs VEQT.TO
VGRO.TO
Vanguard Growth ETF PortfolioDiversified Portfolio
86
11.17%
10.51BJan 2018VLB.TO vs VGRO.TO
VCN.TO
Vanguard FTSE Canada All Cap Index ETFCanada Equities
89
12.58%
16.37BAug 2013VLB.TO vs VCN.TO
VIU.TO
Vanguard FTSE Developed All Cap ex North America I...International Equity
74
16.95%
11.04BDec 2015VLB.TO vs VIU.TO
VBAL.TO
Vanguard Balanced ETF PortfolioDiversified Portfolio
77
8.43%
5.67BJan 2018VLB.TO vs VBAL.TO
VCE.TO
Vanguard FTSE Canada Index ETFCanada Equities
88
13.03%
3.54BNov 2011VLB.TO vs VCE.TO
VIDY.TO
Vanguard FTSE Developed ex North America High Divi...Foreign Large Cap Equities, Dividend
89
17.18%
2.00BAug 2018VLB.TO vs VIDY.TO
VXC.TO
Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap ex Canada Index ETFGlobal Equities
81
14.29%
3.47BJun 2014VLB.TO vs VXC.TO

Often Compared With VLB.TO

Investors most often compare VLB.TO with XEQT.TO, ZLB.TO, ZSB.TO. These 10 comparison targets span 7 categories, based on PortfoliosLab usage data.

SymbolNameCategoryRisk / Return RankYTD ReturnAUMInception
XEQT.TO
iShares Core Equity ETF PortfolioGlobal Equities
87
13.83%
20.38BAug 2019VLB.TO vs XEQT.TO
ZLB.TO
BMO Low Volatility Canadian Equity ETFCanada Equities
55
7.84%
6.32BOct 2011VLB.TO vs ZLB.TO
ZSB.TO
BMO Short-Term Bond Index ETFCanadian Government Bonds
64
1.21%
182.49MMar 2018VLB.TO vs ZSB.TO
DTLE.L
iShares $ Treasury Bond 20+yr UCITS ETF EUR Hedged...Long-Term Bond
10
-3.67%
786.79M—VLB.TO vs DTLE.L
XLB.TO
iShares Core Canadian Long Term Bond Index ETFCanadian Government Bonds
20
0.59%
706.60MNov 2006VLB.TO vs XLB.TO
TCLB.TO
TD Canadian Long Term Federal Bond ETFCanadian Government Bonds
15
0.46%
419.95MNov 2019VLB.TO vs TCLB.TO
VSC.TO
Vanguard Canadian Short-Term Corporate Bond Index ...Short-Term Bond
76
1.43%
1.53BNov 2012VLB.TO vs VSC.TO
SPY
State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETFS&P 500
67
10.31%
790.12BJan 1993VLB.TO vs SPY
ZFL.TO
BMO Long Federal BondCanadian Government Bonds
12
-0.08%
1.29BMay 2010VLB.TO vs ZFL.TO
CASH.TO
Global X High Interest Savings ETFMoney Market
100
1.12%
6.63BNov 2021VLB.TO vs CASH.TO

Compare VLB.TO with Any Fund or Stock

Compare VLB.TO with any ETF, mutual fund, or stock using PortfoliosLab's comparison tool.

 

Diversifiers

Pair VLB.TO with funds that move differently

Vanguard Canadian Long-Term Bond Index ETF alternatives help with substitution. Diversifiers are the next step when you want funds with lower historical correlation to VLB.TO.

Explore VLB.TO Diversifiers