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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned −1.4% and EFA +12.1%.

Which is cheaper, AGG or EFA?

AGG is cheaper, by 0.29 percentage points a year. That is about $29 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

AGG vs EFA: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, AGG returned −1.4% to EFA's +12.1%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $139.4bn for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF and $76.8bn for iShares MSCI EAFE ETF.

AGG on its own →EFA on its own →

At a glance

−1.4%

AGG total return, 1 year

+12.1%

EFA total return, 1 year

0.03%

AGG expense ratio

0.32%

EFA expense ratio

Pair scorecard

AGG costs 0.29 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 13.5 points; AGG is 1.8 times larger.

AGG vs EFA: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	AGG	EFA
Return
Measure	AGG	EFA
Total return, 1 year	−1.4%	+12.1%
Drawdown
Measure	AGG	EFA
Below its high	3.4%, high on Aug 4, 2020	4.7%, high on Aug 25, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	AGG	EFA
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index	MSCI EAFE Index
Cost and size
Measure	AGG	EFA
Expense ratio	0.03%	0.32%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$139.4bn	$76.8bn
Holdings
Measure	AGG	EFA
Holdings in common	0%
In the S&P 500, by weight		0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		14.3%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, AGG and EFA hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first AGG EFA

Only in one fund ↓

Only in AGG

BLACKROCK CASH CL INST SL AGENCY 3.02%

TREASURY NOTE 0.40%

TREASURY NOTE (OLD) 0.40%

TREASURY NOTE 0.40%

TREASURY NOTE 0.39%

TREASURY NOTE 0.38%

Only in EFA

ASML HOLDING 2.98%

ROCHE PS PAR AG 1.58%

SHELL 1.42%

HSBC HOLDINGS PLC 1.38%

NOVARTIS AG 1.33%

ASTRAZENECA PLC 1.21%

NESTLE SA 1.21%

SAP 1.13%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

AGG iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF EFA iShares MSCI EAFE ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks an index of US aggregate bonds Tracks an index of Developed markets ex US

Total return, 1 year −1.4% +12.1%

Its benchmark over the same days −1.3% (SCHZ) +14.3% (ACWX)

Gap to its benchmark −0.1 pts vs SCHZ −2.2 pts vs ACWX

Expense ratio 0.03% 0.32%

Holdings 13469 665

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $139.4bn $76.8bn

AGG and EFA on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Alert

About each fund

AGG

AGG tracks an index of US aggregate bonds. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −1.4% with distributions reinvested, against −1.3% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. It sat 3.4% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Oct 28, 2026.

EFA

EFA tracks an index of Developed markets ex US. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +12.1% with distributions reinvested, against +14.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.32% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 665 positions, with the top ten at 14.3%. It sat 4.7% below its high of Aug 25, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, AGG or EFA?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned −1.4% and EFA +12.1%.
Which is cheaper, AGG or EFA?: AGG is cheaper, by 0.29 percentage points a year. That is about $29 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

AGG vs VXUS AGG vs IEFA AGG vs VEA AGG vs SCHF BND vs EFA EFA vs SGOV BNDX vs EFA EFA vs VCIT

Where to next

AGG on its own →EFA on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →AGG dividend history →AGG holdings →EFA dividend history →EFA holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

AGG and EFA filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

AGG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for AGG ↗

EFA prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for EFA ↗

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

How this is computed

Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, AGG against EFA, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/agg-vs-efa

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Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.