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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned −1.4% and GOVT −1.5%.

Which is cheaper, AGG or GOVT?

AGG is cheaper, by 0.02 percentage points a year. That is about $2 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

AGG vs GOVT: Differences, Returns & Fees

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AGG's duration was 5.8 years on Aug 31, 2026 and GOVT's 5.5 on Jul 31, 2026; AGG charges 0.03% to GOVT's 0.05%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $139.4bn for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF and $42.8bn for iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF.

AGG on its own →GOVT on its own →

At a glance

−1.4%

AGG total return, 1 year

−1.5%

GOVT total return, 1 year

0.03%

AGG expense ratio

0.05%

GOVT expense ratio

Pair scorecard

AGG costs 0.02 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.1 points; AGG is 3.3 times larger.

AGG vs GOVT: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	AGG	GOVT
Return
Measure	AGG	GOVT
Total return, 1 year	−1.4%	−1.5%
Drawdown
Measure	AGG	GOVT
Below its high	3.4%, high on Aug 4, 2020	8.1%, high on Aug 4, 2020
Benchmark
Measure	AGG	GOVT
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index	ICE U.S. Treasury Core Bond Index
Cost and size
Measure	AGG	GOVT
Expense ratio	0.03%	0.05%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$139.4bn	$42.8bn
Holdings
Measure	AGG	GOVT
Holdings in common	32%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Mar 2, 2012 to Oct 23, 2026 · 764 weekly returns

AGG GOVT

Return

Total return edge AGG +29.2% +18.4%

Annualized edge AGG +1.8% +1.2%

Price return edge GOVT −13.2% −10.6%

Risk

Volatility edge GOVT (slight) 4.7% 4.5%

Max drawdown edge AGG (slight) −18.2% −18.7%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge AGG 0.02 −0.11

Sortino edge AGG 0.03 −0.15

Calmar edge AGG 0.10 0.06

Reading

AGG returned more: +29.2% to +18.4%. GOVT swung slightly less: 4.5% to 4.7%. AGG fell slightly less at its worst: −18.2% to −18.7%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: AGG vs GOVT: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	AGG	GOVT	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+29.2%	+18.4%	AGG	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+1.8%	+1.2%	AGG	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−13.2%	−10.6%	GOVT	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	4.7%	4.5%	GOVT (slight)	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	3.4%	3.3%	GOVT (slight)	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−18.2%	−18.7%	AGG (slight)	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.02	−0.11	AGG	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.03	−0.15	AGG	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.10	0.06	AGG	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 764 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

32%

By the books each fund has filed, AGG and GOVT hold 32% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

32% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first AGG GOVT

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 15, 2035 0.41% 0.44%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 15, 2034 0.40% 0.77%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 28, 2030 0.40% 0.94%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 15, 2034 0.40% 0.83%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 15, 2034 0.39% 0.92%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 15, 2036 0.39% 0.73%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 15, 2035 0.39% 0.62%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 15, 2033 0.38% 0.82%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 15, 2035 0.38% 0.80%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 15, 2035 0.37% 0.61%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 15, 2034 0.37% 0.99%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 15, 2036 0.37% 0.38%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in AGG

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jul 15, 2028 0.38%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jun 15, 2028 0.36%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 15, 2028 0.33%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 31, 2030 0.32%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Sep 15, 2028 0.30%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jun 30, 2030 0.28%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 28, 2029 0.22%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jan 15, 2028 0.22%

Only in GOVT

U.S. Treasury Bonds, due Nov 15, 2027 1.38%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jun 30, 2027 0.12%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jul 31, 2027 0.09%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jul 31, 2027 0.06%

U.S. Treasury Bonds STRIPS, due Aug 15, 2036 0.06%

U.S. Treasury Bonds STRIPS, due May 15, 2043 0.05%

U.S. Treasury Bonds STRIPS, due Aug 15, 2035 0.04%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jul 15, 2027 0.04%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

AGG iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF GOVT iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks an index of US aggregate bonds Tracks an index of U.S. Treasury Bond

Total return, 1 year −1.4% −1.5%

Its benchmark over the same days −1.3% (SCHZ) not measured

Gap to its benchmark −0.1 pts vs SCHZ not measured

Expense ratio 0.03% 0.05%

Holdings 13469 229

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $139.4bn $42.8bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-D9F7E0064A

AGG and GOVT do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

What each follows. AGG follows Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index and GOVT follows ICE U.S. Treasury Core Bond Index.
Holdings in common. 32% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Aug 31, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026).
Number of holdings. AGG holds 13,469 positions and GOVT holds 229.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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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.

GOVT

GOVT tracks an index of U.S. Treasury Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −1.5% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.05% a year. It sat 8.1% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, AGG or GOVT?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned −1.4% and GOVT −1.5%.
Which is cheaper, AGG or GOVT?: AGG is cheaper, by 0.02 percentage points a year. That is about $2 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

AGG vs VGIT AGG vs IEF AGG vs BSV AGG vs MBB BND vs GOVT GOVT vs SGOV BNDX vs GOVT GOVT vs VCIT

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

AGG and GOVT filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

AGG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for AGG ↗

GOVT prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for GOVT ↗

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

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