Are AGG and BTAL in the same category?

AGG is a bond ETF and BTAL 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 BTAL?

In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned +0.2% and BTAL −11.5%.

Which is cheaper, AGG or BTAL?

AGG is cheaper, by 1.22 percentage points a year. That is about $122 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Across categories

AGG vs BTAL: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, AGG returned +0.2% to BTAL's −11.5%, and AGG charges 0.03% to BTAL's 1.25%.

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Net assets: $139.1bn on Nov 4, 2026 for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF, and $283m on Jun 30, 2026 for AGF U.S. Market Neutral Anti-Beta Fund.

AGG on its own →BTAL on its own →

At a glance

+0.2%

AGG total return, 1 year

−11.5%

BTAL total return, 1 year

0.03%

AGG expense ratio

1.25%

BTAL expense ratio

Pair scorecard

AGG costs 1.22 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 11.7 points.

AGG vs BTAL: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	AGG	BTAL
Return
Measure	AGG	BTAL
Total return, 1 year	+0.2%	−11.5%
Total return, 52 weeks		−10.0%
Against its benchmark
Measure	AGG	BTAL
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index	not published
Treasury bills, 52 weeks		+3.7%
Against cash		13.7 points behind
Cost and size
Measure	AGG	BTAL
Expense ratio	0.03%	1.25%
Net assets, AGG as of Nov 4, 2026 and BTAL as of Jun 30, 2026	$139.1bn	$283m
Holdings
Measure	AGG	BTAL
Holdings in common	not published
Risk
Measure	AGG	BTAL
Correlation with the S&P 500’s weekly returns		−0.74
Beta to the S&P 500		−1.37: about 1.37% for each 1%
Its average week when the S&P 500 fell		rose 1.80%
Down-week capture		−168.4%
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 BTAL AGF U.S. Market Neutral Anti-Beta Fund

Where it sits Bond ETF Alternatives ETF

Issuer iShares AGF Investments

What it is Tracks an index of US aggregate bonds Market neutral

Total return, 1 year +0.2% −11.5%

Its benchmark over the same days +0.2% (SCHZ) +14.8% (VOO)

Gap to its benchmark 0.0 pts vs SCHZ −26.3 pts vs VOO

Expense ratio 0.03% 1.25%

Holdings 13462 not read by ETFIQ

Net assets, AGG as of Nov 4, 2026 and BTAL as of Jun 30, 2026 $139.1bn $283m

AGG and BTAL 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.

BTAL

BTAL is a market neutral 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 −0.74 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of −1.37, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 1.37% the other way. The S&P 500 fell in 26 of those 52 weeks, by 1.07% on average. In the same weeks BTAL rose 1.80% on average, a down-week capture of −168.4%. Over the same 52 weeks BTAL returned −10.0% and a Treasury bill fund +3.7%, so it finished 13.7 percentage points behind cash.

Questions people ask

Are AGG and BTAL in the same category?: AGG is a bond ETF and BTAL 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 BTAL?: In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned +0.2% and BTAL −11.5%.
Which is cheaper, AGG or BTAL?: AGG is cheaper, by 1.22 percentage points a year. That is about $122 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

AGG vs MKTN AGG vs IMF AGG vs HEQT AGG vs ORR BND vs BTAL BTAL vs TLT BTAL vs GLD BTAL 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 →BTAL on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →AGG dividend history →AGG holdings →BTAL dividend history →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

AGG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

AGG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for AGG ↗

BTAL filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

BTAL prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

AGF Investments website ↗

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

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

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