Are AGG and HOLD in the same category?

AGG is a bond ETF and HOLD 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 HOLD?

In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned +0.2% and HOLD +0.8%.

Which is cheaper, AGG or HOLD?

AGG is cheaper, by 0.67 percentage points a year. That is about $67 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Across categories

AGG vs HOLD: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, AGG returned +0.2% to HOLD's +0.8%, and AGG charges 0.03% to HOLD's 0.70%.

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Net assets on Nov 4, 2026: $139.1bn for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF and $3.9m for Harbor Alpha Layering ETF.

AGG on its own →HOLD on its own →

At a glance

+0.2%

AGG total return, 1 year

+0.8%

HOLD total return, 1 year

0.03%

AGG expense ratio

0.70%

HOLD expense ratio

Pair scorecard

AGG costs 0.67 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.6 points; AGG is far larger, $139.1bn against $3.9m.

AGG vs HOLD: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	AGG	HOLD
Return
Measure	AGG	HOLD
Total return, 1 year	+0.2%	+0.8%
Total return, 52 weeks		+0.3%
Against its benchmark
Measure	AGG	HOLD
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index	not published
Treasury bills, 52 weeks		+3.7%
Against cash		3.3 points behind
Cost and size
Measure	AGG	HOLD
Expense ratio	0.03%	0.70%
Net assets	$139.1bn	$3.9m
Holdings
Measure	AGG	HOLD
Holdings in common	not published
Risk
Measure	AGG	HOLD
Correlation with the S&P 500’s weekly returns		+0.66
Beta to the S&P 500		+0.81: about 0.81% for each 1%
Its average week when the S&P 500 fell		fell 1.29%
Down-week capture		120.5%
Weeks the S&P 500 fell		26 of 52, by 1.07% on average

Method

Side by side

AGG iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF HOLD Harbor Alpha Layering ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Alternatives ETF

Issuer iShares Harbor

What it is Tracks an index of US aggregate bonds Managed futures

Total return, 1 year +0.2% +0.8%

Its benchmark over the same days +0.2% (SCHZ) +14.8% (VOO)

Gap to its benchmark 0.0 pts vs SCHZ −14.0 pts vs VOO

Expense ratio 0.03% 0.70%

Holdings 13462 not read by ETFIQ

Net assets $139.1bn $3.9m

AGG and HOLD on the fields both publish, as of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Alert

About each fund

AGG

AGG tracks an index of US aggregate bonds. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026 it returned +0.2% with distributions reinvested, against +0.2% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year.

HOLD

HOLD is a managed futures fund. ETFIQ measures what every alternatives fund is sold on: whether it moves differently from the stock market. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, its weekly returns had a correlation of +0.66 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of +0.81, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 0.81% the same way. The S&P 500 fell in 26 of those 52 weeks, by 1.07% on average. In the same weeks HOLD fell 1.29% on average, a down-week capture of 120.5%. Over the same 52 weeks HOLD returned +0.3% and a Treasury bill fund +3.7%, so it finished 3.3 percentage points behind cash.

Questions people ask

Are AGG and HOLD in the same category?: AGG is a bond ETF and HOLD 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 HOLD?: In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned +0.2% and HOLD +0.8%.
Which is cheaper, AGG or HOLD?: AGG is cheaper, by 0.67 percentage points a year. That is about $67 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

AGG vs HFMF AGG vs CTA AGG vs DBMF AGG vs PRAE BND vs HOLD HOLD vs TLT GLD vs HOLD HOLD 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 →HOLD on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →AGG dividend history →AGG holdings →HOLD dividend history →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

AGG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

AGG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for AGG ↗

HOLD filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

HOLD prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Harbor page for HOLD ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, AGG against HOLD, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/agg-vs-hold

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