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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned −1.4% and EWJ +18.1%.

Which is cheaper, AGG or EWJ?

AGG is cheaper, by 0.46 percentage points a year. That is about $46 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

AGG vs EWJ: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, AGG returned −1.4% to EWJ's +18.1%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets: $139.4bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF, and $23.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares MSCI Japan ETF.

AGG on its own →EWJ on its own →

At a glance

−1.4%

AGG total return, 1 year

+18.1%

EWJ total return, 1 year

0.03%

AGG expense ratio

0.49%

EWJ expense ratio

Pair scorecard

AGG costs 0.46 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 19.5 points; AGG is 5.9 times larger.

AGG vs EWJ: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	AGG	EWJ
Return
Measure	AGG	EWJ
Total return, 1 year	−1.4%	+18.1%
Drawdown
Measure	AGG	EWJ
Below its high	3.4%, high on Aug 4, 2020	4.4%, high on Oct 6, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	AGG	EWJ
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index	MSCI Japan Index
Cost and size
Measure	AGG	EWJ
Expense ratio	0.03%	0.49%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$139.4bn	$23.8bn
Holdings
Measure	AGG	EWJ
Holdings in common	0%
In the S&P 500, by weight		0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		29.5%

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

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, AGG and EWJ 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 EWJ

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 EWJ

MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GROUP 4.40%

TOYOTA MOTOR 3.59%

ADVANTEST 3.03%

HITACHI 3.03%

RECRUIT HOLDINGS LTD 3.03%

SONY GROUP 2.89%

SUMITOMO MITSUI FINANCIAL GROUP 2.83%

TOKYO ELECTRON 2.55%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

AGG iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF EWJ iShares MSCI Japan ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks an index of US aggregate bonds Tracks the MSCI Japan

Total return, 1 year −1.4% +18.1%

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

Gap to its benchmark −0.1 pts vs SCHZ +3.8 pts vs ACWX

Expense ratio 0.03% 0.49%

Holdings 13469 169

Net assets, AGG as of Oct 27, 2026 and EWJ as of Oct 28, 2026 $139.4bn $23.9bn

AGG and EWJ 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.

EWJ

EWJ tracks the MSCI Japan. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +18.1% with distributions reinvested, against +14.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.49% 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 169 positions, with the top ten at 29.5%. It sat 4.4% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, AGG or EWJ?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned −1.4% and EWJ +18.1%.
Which is cheaper, AGG or EWJ?: AGG is cheaper, by 0.46 percentage points a year. That is about $46 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

AGG vs AVDV AGG vs EWT AGG vs EWZ AGG vs EZU BND vs EWJ EWJ vs SGOV BNDX vs EWJ EWJ vs VCIT

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

AGG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

AGG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for AGG ↗

EWJ filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

EWJ prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for EWJ ↗

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 EWJ, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/agg-vs-ewj

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