Are AGG and HEDG in the same category?

AGG is a bond ETF and HEDG 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 HEDG?

In the year to Oct 27, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned −1.2% and HEDG +9.4%.

Which is cheaper, AGG or HEDG?

AGG is cheaper, by 0.93 percentage points a year. That is about $93 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 27, 2026.

Across categories

AGG vs HEDG: Differences, Returns & Fees

Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, AGG returned −1.2% to HEDG's +9.4%, and AGG charges 0.03% to HEDG's 0.96%.

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Net assets: $139.3bn on Oct 26, 2026 for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF, and $427m on Jul 31, 2026 for Equable Shares Hedged Equity ETF.

AGG on its own →HEDG on its own →

At a glance

−1.2%

AGG total return, 1 year

+9.4%

HEDG total return, 1 year

0.03%

AGG expense ratio

0.96%

HEDG expense ratio

Pair scorecard

AGG costs 0.93 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 10.6 points.

AGG vs HEDG: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	AGG	HEDG
Return
Measure	AGG	HEDG
Total return, 1 year	−1.2%	+9.4%
Total return, 52 weeks		+9.4%
Drawdown
Measure	AGG	HEDG
Below its high	3.2%, high on Aug 4, 2020
Against its benchmark
Measure	AGG	HEDG
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index	not published
Treasury bills, 52 weeks		+3.7%
Against cash		5.8 points ahead
Cost and size
Measure	AGG	HEDG
Expense ratio	0.03%	0.96%
Net assets, AGG as of Oct 26, 2026 and HEDG as of Jul 31, 2026	$139.3bn	$427m
Holdings
Measure	AGG	HEDG
Holdings in common	not published
Risk
Measure	AGG	HEDG
Correlation with the S&P 500’s weekly returns		+0.85
Beta to the S&P 500		+0.28: about 0.28% for each 1%
Its average week when the S&P 500 fell		fell 0.21%
Down-week capture		19.4%
Weeks the S&P 500 fell		25 of 52, by 1.10% on average

Method

Side by side

AGG iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF HEDG Equable Shares Hedged Equity ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Alternatives ETF

Issuer iShares Equable Shares

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

Total return, 1 year −1.2% +9.4%

Its benchmark over the same days −1.2% (SCHZ) +13.6% (VOO)

Gap to its benchmark 0.0 pts vs SCHZ −4.2 pts vs VOO

Expense ratio 0.03% 0.96%

Holdings 13461 not read by ETFIQ

Net assets, AGG as of Oct 26, 2026 and HEDG as of Jul 31, 2026 $139.3bn $427m

AGG and HEDG on the fields both publish, as of Oct 27, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Alert

About each fund

AGG

AGG tracks an index of US aggregate bonds. Over the year to Oct 27, 2026 it returned −1.2% with distributions reinvested, against −1.2% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. It sat 3.2% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Oct 27, 2026.

HEDG

HEDG 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 Oct 27, 2026, its weekly returns had a correlation of +0.85 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of +0.28, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 0.28% the same way. The S&P 500 fell in 25 of those 52 weeks, by 1.10% on average. In the same weeks HEDG fell 0.21% on average, a down-week capture of 19.4%. Over the same 52 weeks HEDG returned +9.4% and a Treasury bill fund +3.7%, so it finished 5.8 percentage points ahead of cash.

Questions people ask

Are AGG and HEDG in the same category?: AGG is a bond ETF and HEDG 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 HEDG?: In the year to Oct 27, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned −1.2% and HEDG +9.4%.
Which is cheaper, AGG or HEDG?: AGG is cheaper, by 0.93 percentage points a year. That is about $93 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

AGG vs HEQT AGG vs HOLA AGG vs FHEQ AGG vs SHDG BND vs HEDG HEDG vs TLT GLD vs HEDG HEDG 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 →HEDG on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →AGG dividend history →AGG holdings →HEDG dividend history →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

AGG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

AGG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for AGG ↗

HEDG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

HEDG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Equable Shares website ↗

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

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ETFIQ, AGG against HEDG, data as of Oct 27, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/agg-vs-hedg

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