Data as of Sep 19, 2026.
AGG vs LALT: how they differ
Over the year LALT returned more, +15.3% to AGG's −0.4%, and AGG charges 0.03% to LALT's 1.18%.
iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF and First Trust Multi-Strategy Alternative ETF.
| AGG iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF | LALT First Trust Multi-Strategy Alternative ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core fund | Alternatives ETF |
| Issuer | iShares | First Trust |
| What it is | Tracks an index of US aggregate bonds | Multi-strategy |
| Total return, 1 year | −0.4% | +15.3% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +16.6% | +16.6% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | −17.0 pts | −1.2 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.03% | 1.18% |
| Holdings | 13428 | not filed |
| Net assets | $137.3bn | $389m |
AGG in plain words
AGG tracks an index of US aggregate bonds. Over the year to Sep 18, 2026 it returned −0.4% with distributions reinvested, against +16.6% for the S&P 500 and +21.8% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. It sat 3.7% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Sep 18, 2026.
LALT in plain words
LALT is a multi-strategy fund. ETFIQ measures what every alternatives fund is sold on: whether it moves differently from the stock market. Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, its weekly returns had a correlation of +0.24 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of +0.11, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 0.11% the same way. The S&P 500 fell in 22 of those 52 weeks, by 1.24% on average. In the same weeks LALT rose 0.18% on average, a down-week capture of −14.9%. Over the same 52 weeks LALT returned +15.2% and a Treasury bill fund +3.6%, so it finished 11.6 percentage points ahead of cash.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, AGG or LALT?
- In the year to Sep 19, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned −0.4% and LALT returned +15.3%, so LALT returned more.
- Which is cheaper, AGG or LALT?
- AGG charges 0.03% a year and LALT charges 1.18%, so AGG is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- Are AGG and LALT the same kind of fund?
- No. AGG is an index ETF and LALT is an alternatives ETF, so they are built for different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and what each actually holds.
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Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, AGG against LALT, data as of Sep 19, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/agg-vs-lalt Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources