Are AGG and CAOS in the same category?

AGG is a bond ETF and CAOS 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 CAOS?

In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned +0.2% and CAOS +1.3%.

Which is cheaper, AGG or CAOS?

AGG is cheaper, by 0.60 percentage points a year. That is about $60 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Across categories

AGG vs CAOS: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, AGG returned +0.2% to CAOS's +1.3%, and AGG charges 0.03% to CAOS's 0.63%.

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Net assets: $139.1bn on Nov 4, 2026 for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF, and $728m on Nov 3, 2026 for Alpha Architect Tail Risk ETF.

AGG on its own →CAOS on its own →

At a glance

+0.2%

AGG total return, 1 year

+1.3%

CAOS total return, 1 year

0.03%

AGG expense ratio

0.63%

CAOS expense ratio

Pair scorecard

AGG costs 0.60 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.1 points; AGG is far larger, $138.8bn against $728m.

AGG vs CAOS: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	AGG	CAOS
Return
Measure	AGG	CAOS
Total return, 1 year	+0.2%	+1.3%
Total return, 52 weeks		+1.3%
Against its benchmark
Measure	AGG	CAOS
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index	not published
Treasury bills, 52 weeks		+3.7%
Against cash		2.3 points behind
Cost and size
Measure	AGG	CAOS
Expense ratio	0.03%	0.63%
Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026	$138.8bn	$728m
Holdings
Measure	AGG	CAOS
Holdings in common	not published
Risk
Measure	AGG	CAOS
Correlation with the S&P 500’s weekly returns		−0.15
Beta to the S&P 500		−0.01: about 0.01% for each 1%
Its average week when the S&P 500 fell		rose 0.04%
Down-week capture		−3.3%
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 CAOS Alpha Architect Tail Risk ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Alternatives ETF

Issuer iShares Alpha Architect

What it is Tracks an index of US aggregate bonds Hedged equity

Total return, 1 year +0.2% +1.3%

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% 0.63%

Holdings 13462 not read by ETFIQ

Net assets, AGG as of Nov 4, 2026 and CAOS as of Nov 3, 2026 $139.1bn $728m

AGG and CAOS 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.

CAOS

CAOS is a hedged equity 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 −0.15 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of −0.01, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 0.01% the other way. The S&P 500 fell in 26 of those 52 weeks, by 1.07% on average. In the same weeks CAOS rose 0.04% on average, a down-week capture of −3.3%. Over the same 52 weeks CAOS returned +1.3% and a Treasury bill fund +3.7%, so it finished 2.3 percentage points behind cash.

Questions people ask

Are AGG and CAOS in the same category?: AGG is a bond ETF and CAOS 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 CAOS?: In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned +0.2% and CAOS +1.3%.
Which is cheaper, AGG or CAOS?: AGG is cheaper, by 0.60 percentage points a year. That is about $60 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

AGG vs HEDG AGG vs ATTR AGG vs THEQ AGG vs ZHDG BND vs CAOS CAOS vs TLT CAOS vs GLD CAOS 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 →CAOS on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →AGG dividend history →AGG holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

AGG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

AGG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for AGG ↗

CAOS filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

CAOS prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Alpha Architect page for CAOS ↗

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

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

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