Are AGG and HISF in the same category?

AGG is a bond ETF and HISF is an option-income 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 HISF?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned −1.4% and HISF −1.0%.

Which is cheaper, AGG or HISF?

AGG is cheaper, by 0.80 percentage points a year. That is about $80 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

AGG vs HISF: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, AGG returned −1.4% to HISF's −1.0%, and AGG charges 0.03% to HISF's 0.83%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $139.4bn for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF and $88m for First Trust High Income Strategic Focus ETF.

AGG on its own →HISF on its own →

At a glance

−1.4%

AGG total return, 1 year

−1.0%

HISF total return, 1 year

0.03%

AGG expense ratio

0.83%

HISF expense ratio

Pair scorecard

AGG costs 0.80 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.4 points; AGG is far larger, $139.4bn against $88m.

AGG vs HISF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	AGG	HISF
Return
Measure	AGG	HISF
Total return, 1 year	−1.4%	−1.0%
Price change, 1 year	fell 5.3%	fell 5.9%
Latest payout, annualized		5.2%
Return of capital, issuer estimate		2% of the Sep 30, 2026 payment
Drawdown
Measure	AGG	HISF
Below its high	3.4%, high on Aug 4, 2020
Benchmark
Measure	AGG	HISF
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index	Benchmark: US investment grade bonds, measured through AGG
Cost and size
Measure	AGG	HISF
Expense ratio	0.03%	0.83%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$139.4bn	$88m
Holdings
Measure	AGG	HISF
Holdings in common	0%

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

Risk and return

Mar 8, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026 · 137 weekly returns

AGG HISF

Return

Total return edge HISF +8.0% +9.2%

Annualized edge HISF +3.0% +3.4%

Price return edge AGG −2.4% −4.0%

Risk

Volatility edge HISF 4.8% 4.1%

Max drawdown edge HISF −4.5% −4.0%

Downside capture 97.5% 80.8%

Beta 0.94 0.81

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge HISF −0.27 −0.22

Sortino edge HISF −0.37 −0.30

Treynor 0.004 −0.011

Calmar edge HISF 0.66 0.84

Against the benchmark

Alpha +0.1% a year +0.1% a year

Alpha t-stat 0.23 0.18

Information ratio 0.04 0.25

Tracking error 1.1% 1.5%

Each against its own benchmark: AGG against SCHZ, Jul 22, 2011 to Oct 23, 2026; HISF against AGG, Mar 8, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

HISF returned more: +9.2% to +8.0%. HISF swung less: 4.1% to 4.8%. HISF fell less at its worst: −4.0% to −4.5%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: AGG vs HISF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	AGG	HISF	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+8.0%	+9.2%	HISF	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+3.0%	+3.4%	HISF	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−2.4%	−4.0%	AGG	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	4.8%	4.1%	HISF	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	3.5%	3.0%	HISF	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−4.5%	−4.0%	HISF	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	97.5%	83.7%		Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	97.5%	80.8%		Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	0.94	0.81	Not an edge	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	0.95	0.91	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	−0.27	−0.22	HISF	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	−0.37	−0.30	HISF	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.004	−0.011		Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.66	0.84	HISF	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	SCHZ	AGG		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	+0.1% a year	+0.1% a year	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	0.23	0.18	Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−0.4% to +0.6%	−1.3% to +1.6%	Includes zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	0.04	0.25		Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	1.1%	1.5%	Not an edge	How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 137 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

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

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 HISF

First Trust Core Investment Grade ETF 28.15%

First Trust Tactical High Yield ETF 11.99%

First Trust Intermediate Duration Investment Grade Corporate ETF 10.06%

First Trust Low Duration Opportunities ETF 9.94%

First Trust Long Duration Opportunities ETF 7.15%

First Trust Senior Loan Fund 6.90%

First Trust Smith Opportunistic Fixed Income ETF 6.02%

First Trust Limited Duration Investment Grade Corporate ETF 4.98%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

AGG iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF HISF First Trust High Income Strategic Focus ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Income ETF

Issuer iShares First Trust

What it is Tracks an index of US aggregate bonds income from the bond funds it holds, vs AGG

Total return, 1 year −1.4% −1.0%

Its benchmark over the same days −1.3% (SCHZ) −1.4% (AGG)

Gap to its benchmark −0.1 pts vs SCHZ +0.4 pts vs AGG

Cash paid, 1 year not an income fund 4.9%

Expense ratio 0.03% 0.83%

Holdings 13469 not read by ETFIQ

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $139.4bn $88m

AGG and HISF on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ. Cash paid: distributions over the window, as a share of the starting price.

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-CE1FEE58C2

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

What each follows. AGG follows Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index and HISF is measured against US investment grade bonds through AGG.
Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
Cost. AGG charges 0.03% of assets a year and HISF 0.83%, a gap of 0.80 points.

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.

HISF

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, HISF paid 4.9% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 5.9%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned −1.0%. US investment grade bonds (AGG) returned −1.4% over the same days, so a holder was about even. At its price on Oct 28, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 5.2%, paid monthly. First Trust estimates that 2% of the distribution paid Sep 30, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.

Questions people ask

Are AGG and HISF in the same category?: AGG is a bond ETF and HISF is an option-income 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 HISF?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned −1.4% and HISF −1.0%.
Which is cheaper, AGG or HISF?: AGG is cheaper, by 0.80 percentage points a year. That is about $80 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

AGG vs BNDI AGG vs OVB AGG vs XRT AGG vs MRGR AGG vs IWC AGG vs XHB AGG vs BITO AGG vs IYE

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

AGG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

AGG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for AGG ↗

HISF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

HISF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

HISF 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

First Trust page for HISF ↗

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

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