Are AGG and ISMF in the same category?

AGG is a bond ETF and ISMF 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 ISMF?

In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned +0.2% and ISMF +10.9%.

Which is cheaper, AGG or ISMF?

AGG is cheaper, by 0.77 percentage points a year. That is about $77 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Across categories

AGG vs ISMF: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, AGG returned +0.2% to ISMF's +10.9%, and AGG charges 0.03% to ISMF's 0.80%.

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Net assets: $139.1bn on Nov 4, 2026 for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF, and $37m on Nov 3, 2026 for iShares Managed Futures Active ETF.

AGG on its own →ISMF on its own →

At a glance

+0.2%

AGG total return, 1 year

+10.9%

ISMF total return, 1 year

0.03%

AGG expense ratio

0.80%

ISMF expense ratio

Pair scorecard

AGG costs 0.77 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 10.7 points; AGG is far larger, $139.1bn against $37m.

AGG vs ISMF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	AGG	ISMF
Return
Measure	AGG	ISMF
Total return, 1 year	+0.2%	+10.9%
Total return, 52 weeks		+10.5%
Against its benchmark
Measure	AGG	ISMF
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index	not published
Treasury bills, 52 weeks		+3.7%
Against cash		6.8 points ahead
Cost and size
Measure	AGG	ISMF
Expense ratio	0.03%	0.80%
Net assets	$139.1bn	$37m
Holdings
Measure	AGG	ISMF
Holdings in common	not published
Risk
Measure	AGG	ISMF
Correlation with the S&P 500’s weekly returns		+0.48
Beta to the S&P 500		+0.31: about 0.31% for each 1%
Its average week when the S&P 500 fell		fell 0.38%
Down-week capture		35.9%
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 ISMF iShares Managed Futures Active ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Alternatives ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

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

Total return, 1 year +0.2% +10.9%

Its benchmark over the same days +0.2% (SCHZ) not measured

Gap to its benchmark 0.0 pts vs SCHZ not measured

Expense ratio 0.03% 0.80%

Holdings 13462 not read by ETFIQ

Net assets, AGG as of Nov 4, 2026 and ISMF as of Nov 3, 2026 $139.1bn $37m

AGG and ISMF 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.

ISMF

ISMF 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 +0.48 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of +0.31, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 0.31% the same way. The S&P 500 fell in 26 of those 52 weeks, by 1.07% on average. In the same weeks ISMF fell 0.38% on average, a down-week capture of 35.9%. Over the same 52 weeks ISMF returned +10.5% and a Treasury bill fund +3.7%, so it finished 6.8 percentage points ahead of cash.

Questions people ask

Are AGG and ISMF in the same category?: AGG is a bond ETF and ISMF 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 ISMF?: In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned +0.2% and ISMF +10.9%.
Which is cheaper, AGG or ISMF?: AGG is cheaper, by 0.77 percentage points a year. That is about $77 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

AGG vs MFUT AGG vs ASMF AGG vs HFMF AGG vs AHLT BND vs ISMF ISMF vs TLT GLD vs ISMF ISMF 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 →ISMF on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →AGG dividend history →AGG holdings →ISMF dividend history →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

AGG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

AGG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for AGG ↗

ISMF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

ISMF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for ISMF ↗

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

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

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