Are AGG and ASMF in the same category?

AGG is a bond ETF and ASMF 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 ASMF?

In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned +0.2% and ASMF +13.2%.

Which is cheaper, AGG or ASMF?

AGG is cheaper, by 0.77 percentage points a year. That is about $77 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Across categories

AGG vs ASMF: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, AGG returned +0.2% to ASMF's +13.2%, and AGG charges 0.03% to ASMF's 0.80%.

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Net assets: $139.1bn on Nov 4, 2026 for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF, and $30m on Jul 31, 2026 for Virtus AlphaSimplex Managed Futures ETF.

AGG on its own →ASMF on its own →

At a glance

+0.2%

AGG total return, 1 year

+13.2%

ASMF total return, 1 year

0.03%

AGG expense ratio

0.80%

ASMF expense ratio

Pair scorecard

AGG costs 0.77 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 13.0 points.

AGG vs ASMF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	AGG	ASMF
Return
Measure	AGG	ASMF
Total return, 1 year	+0.2%	+13.2%
Total return, 52 weeks		+12.9%
Against its benchmark
Measure	AGG	ASMF
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index	not published
Treasury bills, 52 weeks		+3.7%
Against cash		9.2 points ahead
Cost and size
Measure	AGG	ASMF
Expense ratio	0.03%	0.80%
Net assets, AGG as of Nov 4, 2026 and ASMF as of Jul 31, 2026	$139.1bn	$30m
Holdings
Measure	AGG	ASMF
Holdings in common	not published
Risk
Measure	AGG	ASMF
Correlation with the S&P 500’s weekly returns		+0.40
Beta to the S&P 500		+0.32: about 0.32% for each 1%
Its average week when the S&P 500 fell		fell 0.49%
Down-week capture		45.9%
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 ASMF Virtus AlphaSimplex Managed Futures ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Alternatives ETF

Issuer iShares Virtus

What it is Tracks an index of US aggregate bonds Managed futures

Total return, 1 year +0.2% +13.2%

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% 0.80%

Holdings 13462 not read by ETFIQ

Net assets, AGG as of Nov 4, 2026 and ASMF as of Jul 31, 2026 $139.1bn $30m

AGG and ASMF 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.

ASMF

ASMF is a managed futures 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 +0.40 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of +0.32, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 0.32% the same way. The S&P 500 fell in 26 of those 52 weeks, by 1.07% on average. In the same weeks ASMF fell 0.49% on average, a down-week capture of 45.9%. Over the same 52 weeks ASMF returned +12.9% and a Treasury bill fund +3.7%, so it finished 9.2 percentage points ahead of cash.

Questions people ask

Are AGG and ASMF in the same category?: AGG is a bond ETF and ASMF 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 ASMF?: In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned +0.2% and ASMF +13.2%.
Which is cheaper, AGG or ASMF?: AGG is cheaper, by 0.77 percentage points a year. That is about $77 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

AGG vs HFMF AGG vs ISMF AGG vs MFUT AGG vs AHLT ASMF vs BND ASMF vs TLT ASMF vs GLD ASMF 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 →ASMF on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →AGG dividend history →AGG holdings →ASMF dividend history →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

AGG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

AGG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for AGG ↗

ASMF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

ASMF 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 ASMF, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/agg-vs-asmf

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