Are AGG and CBLS in the same category?

AGG is a bond ETF and CBLS 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 CBLS?

In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned +0.2% and CBLS +1.2%.

Which is cheaper, AGG or CBLS?

AGG is cheaper, by 1.86 percentage points a year. That is about $186 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Across categories

AGG vs CBLS: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, AGG returned +0.2% to CBLS's +1.2%, and AGG charges 0.03% to CBLS's 1.89%.

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Net assets: $139.1bn on Nov 4, 2026 for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF, and $56m on Jul 31, 2026 for Clough Hedged Equity ETF.

AGG on its own →CBLS on its own →

At a glance

+0.2%

AGG total return, 1 year

+1.2%

CBLS total return, 1 year

0.03%

AGG expense ratio

1.89%

CBLS expense ratio

Pair scorecard

AGG costs 1.86 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.0 point.

AGG vs CBLS: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	AGG	CBLS
Return
Measure	AGG	CBLS
Total return, 1 year	+0.2%	+1.2%
Total return, 52 weeks		+1.1%
Against its benchmark
Measure	AGG	CBLS
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index	not published
Treasury bills, 52 weeks		+3.7%
Against cash		2.5 points behind
Cost and size
Measure	AGG	CBLS
Expense ratio	0.03%	1.89%
Net assets, AGG as of Nov 4, 2026 and CBLS as of Jul 31, 2026	$139.1bn	$56m
Holdings
Measure	AGG	CBLS
Holdings in common	not published
Risk
Measure	AGG	CBLS
Correlation with the S&P 500’s weekly returns		+0.59
Beta to the S&P 500		+0.97: about 0.97% for each 1%
Its average week when the S&P 500 fell		fell 1.61%
Down-week capture		150.0%
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 CBLS Clough Hedged Equity ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Alternatives ETF

Issuer iShares Clough

What it is Tracks an index of US aggregate bonds Long-short equity

Total return, 1 year +0.2% +1.2%

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% 1.89%

Holdings 13462 not read by ETFIQ

Net assets, AGG as of Nov 4, 2026 and CBLS as of Jul 31, 2026 $139.1bn $56m

AGG and CBLS 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.

CBLS

CBLS is a long-short 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 +0.59 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of +0.97, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 0.97% the same way. The S&P 500 fell in 26 of those 52 weeks, by 1.07% on average. In the same weeks CBLS fell 1.61% on average, a down-week capture of 150.0%. Over the same 52 weeks CBLS returned +1.1% and a Treasury bill fund +3.7%, so it finished 2.5 percentage points behind cash.

Questions people ask

Are AGG and CBLS in the same category?: AGG is a bond ETF and CBLS 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 CBLS?: In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned +0.2% and CBLS +1.2%.
Which is cheaper, AGG or CBLS?: AGG is cheaper, by 1.86 percentage points a year. That is about $186 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

AGG vs EHLS AGG vs FFLS AGG vs HFEQ AGG vs LSEQ BND vs CBLS CBLS vs TLT CBLS vs GLD CBLS 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 →CBLS on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →AGG dividend history →AGG holdings →CBLS dividend history →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

AGG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

AGG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for AGG ↗

CBLS filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

CBLS prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Clough website ↗

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

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

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