MGOV vs. IBTF

Last updated Apr 1, 2026

Compare and contrast key facts about First Trust Intermediate Government Opportunities ETF (MGOV) and iShares iBonds Dec 2025 Term Treasury ETF (IBTF).

MGOV and IBTF are both exchange-traded funds (ETFs), meaning they are traded on stock exchanges and can be bought and sold throughout the day. MGOV is an actively managed fund by First Trust. It was launched on Aug 2, 2023. IBTF is a passively managed fund by iShares that tracks the performance of the ICE 2025 Maturity US Treasury Index. It was launched on Feb 25, 2020.

Performance

MGOV vs. IBTF - Performance Comparison

The chart below illustrates the hypothetical performance of a $10,000 investment in First Trust Intermediate Government Opportunities ETF (MGOV) and iShares iBonds Dec 2025 Term Treasury ETF (IBTF). The values are adjusted to include any dividend payments, if applicable.

MGOV vs. IBTF - Yearly Performance Comparison

	2026 (YTD)	2025	2024	2023
MGOV First Trust Intermediate Government Opportunities ETF	0.28%	8.54%	1.55%	4.56%
IBTF iShares iBonds Dec 2025 Term Treasury ETF	0.00%	3.81%	4.60%	2.73%

Returns By Period

MGOV

• 1D: 0.31%
• 1M: -2.29%
• YTD: 0.28%
• 6M: 1.55%
• 1Y: 5.19%
• 3Y*: —
• 5Y*: —
• 10Y*: —

IBTF

• 1D: 0.00%
• 1M: 0.00%
• YTD: 0.00%
• 6M: 0.73%
• 1Y: 2.88%
• 3Y*: 3.59%
• 5Y*: 1.00%
• 10Y*: —

*Multi-year figures are annualized to reflect compound growth (CAGR)

MGOV vs. IBTF - Expense Ratio Comparison

MGOV has a 0.65% expense ratio, which is higher than IBTF's 0.07% expense ratio.

MGOV

First Trust Intermediate Government Opportunities ETF

IBTF

iShares iBonds Dec 2025 Term Treasury ETF

Return for Risk

MGOV vs. IBTF — Risk / Return Rank

Compare risk-adjusted metric ranks to identify better-performing investments over the past 12 months.

MGOV

MGOV Risk / Return Rank: 50
MGOV Sharpe Ratio Rank: 54
MGOV Sortino Ratio Rank: 52
MGOV Omega Ratio Rank: 44
MGOV Calmar Ratio Rank: 56
MGOV Martin Ratio Rank: 44

IBTF

IBTF Risk / Return Rank: 99
IBTF Sharpe Ratio Rank: 99
IBTF Sortino Ratio Rank: 99
IBTF Omega Ratio Rank: 99
IBTF Calmar Ratio Rank: 100
IBTF Martin Ratio Rank: 100

The rank (0–100) shows how this investment's returns compare to the risk taken. Higher = better. Based on the past 12 months of data, combining Sharpe, Sortino, and other metrics used by quantitative funds and institutional investors.

MGOV vs. IBTF - Risk-Adjusted Trends Comparison

This table presents a comparison of risk-adjusted performance metrics for First Trust Intermediate Government Opportunities ETF (MGOV) and iShares iBonds Dec 2025 Term Treasury ETF (IBTF). Risk-adjusted metrics are performance indicators that assess an investment's returns in relation to its risk, enabling a more accurate comparison of different investment options.

	MGOV	IBTF	Difference
Sharpe ratio Return per unit of total volatility	1.00	7.41	-6.41
Sortino ratio Return per unit of downside risk	1.43	17.29	-15.85
Omega ratio Gain probability vs. loss probability	1.17	4.32	-3.15
Calmar ratio Return relative to maximum drawdown	1.48	82.67	-81.19
Martin ratio Return relative to average drawdown	4.26	244.42	-240.16
Data is calculated on a 1-year rolling basis and updated daily. The trend shows the change in the indicator over the past month.

MGOV vs. IBTF - Sharpe Ratio Comparison

The current MGOV Sharpe Ratio is 1.00, which is lower than the IBTF Sharpe Ratio of 7.41. The chart below compares the historical Sharpe Ratios of MGOV and IBTF, offering insights into how both investments have performed under varying market conditions. These values are calculated using daily returns over the previous 12 months.

Sharpe Ratios by Period

	MGOV	IBTF	Difference
Sharpe Ratio (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	1.00	7.41	-6.41
Sharpe Ratio (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period	—	0.43	—
Sharpe Ratio (All Time) Calculated using the full available price history	0.94	0.45	+0.48

Correlation

The correlation between MGOV and IBTF is 0.33, which is considered to be low. This implies their price changes are not closely related. A low correlation is generally favorable for portfolio diversification, as it helps to reduce overall risk by spreading it across multiple assets with different performance patterns.

Dividends

MGOV vs. IBTF - Dividend Comparison

MGOV's dividend yield for the trailing twelve months is around 4.96%, more than IBTF's 3.14% yield.

	TTM	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
MGOV First Trust Intermediate Government Opportunities ETF	4.96%	4.95%	5.05%	1.47%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
IBTF iShares iBonds Dec 2025 Term Treasury ETF	3.14%	3.83%	4.32%	4.03%	1.93%	0.57%	0.59%

Drawdowns

MGOV vs. IBTF - Drawdown Comparison

The maximum MGOV drawdown since its inception was -6.11%, smaller than the maximum IBTF drawdown of -10.45%. Use the drawdown chart below to compare losses from any high point for MGOV and IBTF.

Drawdown Indicators

	MGOV	IBTF	Difference
Max Drawdown Largest peak-to-trough decline	-6.11%	-10.45%	+4.34%
Max Drawdown (1Y) Largest decline over 1 year	-3.57%	-0.04%	-3.53%
Max Drawdown (5Y) Largest decline over 5 years	—	-9.53%	—
Current Drawdown Current decline from peak	-2.29%	0.00%	-2.29%
Average Drawdown Average peak-to-trough decline	-1.59%	-3.42%	+1.83%
Ulcer Index Depth and duration of drawdowns from previous peaks	1.24%	0.01%	+1.23%

Volatility

MGOV vs. IBTF - Volatility Comparison

First Trust Intermediate Government Opportunities ETF (MGOV) has a higher volatility of 1.77% compared to iShares iBonds Dec 2025 Term Treasury ETF (IBTF) at 0.00%. This indicates that MGOV's price experiences larger fluctuations and is considered to be riskier than IBTF based on this measure. The chart below showcases a comparison of their rolling one-month volatility.

Volatility by Period

	MGOV	IBTF	Difference
Volatility (1M) Calculated over the trailing 1-month period	1.77%	0.00%	+1.77%
Volatility (6M) Calculated over the trailing 6-month period	3.03%	0.25%	+2.78%
Volatility (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	5.22%	0.46%	+4.76%
Volatility (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period, annualized	6.02%	2.39%	+3.63%
Volatility (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period, annualized	6.02%	2.60%	+3.42%