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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned −1.4% and IEF −3.2%.

Which is cheaper, AGG or IEF?

AGG is cheaper, by 0.12 percentage points a year. That is about $12 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

AGG vs IEF: Differences, Returns & Fees

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On Aug 31, 2026 AGG's duration was 5.8 years and IEF's 7.0; AGG charges 0.03% to IEF's 0.15%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $139.4bn for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF and $43.5bn for iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF.

AGG on its own →IEF on its own →

At a glance

−1.4%

AGG total return, 1 year

−3.2%

IEF total return, 1 year

0.03%

AGG expense ratio

0.15%

IEF expense ratio

Pair scorecard

AGG costs 0.12 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.8 points; AGG is 3.2 times larger.

AGG vs IEF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	AGG	IEF
Return
Measure	AGG	IEF
Total return, 1 year	−1.4%	−3.2%
Drawdown
Measure	AGG	IEF
Below its high	3.4%, high on Aug 4, 2020	13.1%, high on Aug 4, 2020
Benchmark
Measure	AGG	IEF
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index	ICE U.S. Treasury 7-10 Year Bond Index
Cost and size
Measure	AGG	IEF
Expense ratio	0.03%	0.15%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$139.4bn	$43.5bn
Holdings
Measure	AGG	IEF
Holdings in common	5%

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

Risk and return

Oct 3, 2003 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,203 weekly returns

AGG IEF

Return

Total return edge IEF (slight) +97.2% +102.8%

Annualized edge IEF (slight) +3.0% +3.1%

Price return edge IEF −5.7% +7.4%

Risk

Volatility edge AGG 5.1% 6.4%

Max drawdown edge AGG −18.2% −23.3%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge AGG (slight) 0.25 0.23

Sortino edge AGG (slight) 0.33 0.32

Calmar edge AGG 0.16 0.13

Reading

IEF returned slightly more: +102.8% to +97.2%. AGG swung less: 5.1% to 6.4%. AGG fell less at its worst: −18.2% to −23.3%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: AGG vs IEF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	AGG	IEF	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+97.2%	+102.8%	IEF (slight)	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+3.0%	+3.1%	IEF (slight)	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−5.7%	+7.4%	IEF	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	5.1%	6.4%	AGG	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	3.8%	4.5%	AGG	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−18.2%	−23.3%	AGG	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.25	0.23	AGG (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.33	0.32	AGG (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.16	0.13	AGG	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,203 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, AGG and IEF hold 5% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Aug 31, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

5% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first AGG IEF

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 15, 2035 0.41% 8.74%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 15, 2034 0.40% 8.63%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 15, 2034 0.40% 8.31%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 15, 2034 0.39% 6.73%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 15, 2036 0.39% 9.31%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 15, 2035 0.39% 8.21%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 15, 2033 0.38% 7.87%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 15, 2035 0.38% 8.25%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 15, 2035 0.37% 8.52%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 15, 2034 0.37% 8.12%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 15, 2036 0.37% 7.93%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 15, 2033 0.34% 3.75%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in AGG

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

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 May 15, 2032 0.32%

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

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 31, 2031 0.31%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Apr 30, 2031 0.31%

Only in IEF

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

AGG iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF IEF iShares 7-10 Year 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 7-10 Year Treasury Bond

Total return, 1 year −1.4% −3.2%

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% 0.15%

Holdings 13469 17

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $139.4bn $43.5bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-9731F3ADB2

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

What each follows. AGG follows Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index and IEF follows ICE U.S. Treasury 7-10 Year Bond Index.
Holdings in common. 5% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Aug 31, 2026).
Number of holdings. AGG holds 13,469 positions and IEF holds 17.

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.

IEF

IEF tracks an index of 7-10 Year Treasury Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −3.2% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. It sat 13.1% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, AGG or IEF?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned −1.4% and IEF −3.2%.
Which is cheaper, AGG or IEF?: AGG is cheaper, by 0.12 percentage points a year. That is about $12 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

AGG vs GOVT AGG vs VGIT AGG vs VGSH AGG vs JAAA BND vs IEF IEF vs SGOV BNDX vs IEF IEF vs VCIT

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

AGG and IEF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

AGG and IEF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for AGG ↗

iShares page for IEF ↗

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

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