Are AGG and ASGM in the same category?

AGG is a bond ETF and ASGM is an alternatives ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.

Which returned more over the last year, AGG or ASGM?

In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned +0.2% and ASGM +22.8%.

Which is cheaper, AGG or ASGM?

AGG is cheaper, by 0.83 percentage points a year. That is about $83 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Across categories

AGG vs ASGM: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, AGG returned +0.2% to ASGM's +22.8%, and AGG charges 0.03% to ASGM's 0.86%.

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Net assets: $139.1bn on Nov 4, 2026 for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF, and $8.5m on Jul 31, 2026 for Virtus AlphaSimplex Global Macro ETF.

AGG on its own →ASGM on its own →

At a glance

+0.2%

AGG total return, 1 year

+22.8%

ASGM total return, 1 year

0.03%

AGG expense ratio

0.86%

ASGM expense ratio

Pair scorecard

AGG costs 0.83 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 22.6 points.

AGG vs ASGM: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	AGG	ASGM
Return
Measure	AGG	ASGM
Total return, 1 year	+0.2%	+22.8%
Total return, 52 weeks		+21.9%
Against its benchmark
Measure	AGG	ASGM
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index	not published
Treasury bills, 52 weeks		+3.7%
Against cash		18.2 points ahead
Cost and size
Measure	AGG	ASGM
Expense ratio	0.03%	0.86%
Net assets, AGG as of Nov 4, 2026 and ASGM as of Jul 31, 2026	$139.1bn	$8.5m
Holdings
Measure	AGG	ASGM
Holdings in common	not published
Risk
Measure	AGG	ASGM
Correlation with the S&P 500’s weekly returns		+0.85
Beta to the S&P 500		+1.08: about 1.08% for each 1%
Its average week when the S&P 500 fell		fell 1.25%
Down-week capture		116.3%
Weeks the S&P 500 fell		26 of 52, by 1.07% on average

Method

Side by side

AGG iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF ASGM Virtus AlphaSimplex Global Macro ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Alternatives ETF

Issuer iShares Virtus

What it is Tracks an index of US aggregate bonds Global macro

Total return, 1 year +0.2% +22.8%

Its benchmark over the same days +0.2% (SCHZ) not measured

Gap to its benchmark 0.0 pts vs SCHZ not measured

Expense ratio 0.03% 0.86%

Holdings 13462 not read by ETFIQ

Net assets, AGG as of Nov 4, 2026 and ASGM as of Jul 31, 2026 $139.1bn $8.5m

AGG and ASGM on the fields both publish, as of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Alert

About each fund

AGG

AGG tracks an index of US aggregate bonds. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026 it returned +0.2% with distributions reinvested, against +0.2% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year.

ASGM

ASGM is a global macro fund. ETFIQ measures what every alternatives fund is sold on: whether it moves differently from the stock market. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, its weekly returns had a correlation of +0.85 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of +1.08, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 1.08% the same way. The S&P 500 fell in 26 of those 52 weeks, by 1.07% on average. In the same weeks ASGM fell 1.25% on average, a down-week capture of 116.3%. Over the same 52 weeks ASGM returned +21.9% and a Treasury bill fund +3.7%, so it finished 18.2 percentage points ahead of cash.

Questions people ask

Are AGG and ASGM in the same category?: AGG is a bond ETF and ASGM is an alternatives ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
Which returned more over the last year, AGG or ASGM?: In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned +0.2% and ASGM +22.8%.
Which is cheaper, AGG or ASGM?: AGG is cheaper, by 0.83 percentage points a year. That is about $83 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

AGG vs HFGM AGG vs QTR AGG vs PRAE AGG vs XTR ASGM vs BND ASGM vs TLT ASGM vs GLD ASGM vs QQQ

Where to next

BIL, the T-bill fund these are measured against →SPY, the S&P 500 fund these are measured against →AGG on its own →ASGM on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →AGG dividend history →AGG holdings →ASGM dividend history →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

AGG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

AGG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for AGG ↗

ASGM filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

ASGM prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Virtus website ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

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ETFIQ, AGG against ASGM, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/agg-vs-asgm

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