Are AGG and MNA in the same category?

AGG is a bond ETF and MNA 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 MNA?

In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned +0.2% and MNA +2.9%.

Which is cheaper, AGG or MNA?

AGG is cheaper, by 0.75 percentage points a year. That is about $75 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Across categories

AGG vs MNA: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, AGG returned +0.2% to MNA's +2.9%, and AGG charges 0.03% to MNA's 0.78%.

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Net assets: $139.1bn on Nov 4, 2026 for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF, and $252m on Jul 31, 2026 for NYLIM Merger Arbitrage ETF.

AGG on its own →MNA on its own →

At a glance

+0.2%

AGG total return, 1 year

+2.9%

MNA total return, 1 year

0.03%

AGG expense ratio

0.78%

MNA expense ratio

Pair scorecard

AGG costs 0.75 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.7 points.

AGG vs MNA: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	AGG	MNA
Return
Measure	AGG	MNA
Total return, 1 year	+0.2%	+2.9%
Total return, 52 weeks		+2.9%
Against its benchmark
Measure	AGG	MNA
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index	not published
Treasury bills, 52 weeks		+3.7%
Against cash		0.7 points behind
Cost and size
Measure	AGG	MNA
Expense ratio	0.03%	0.78%
Net assets, AGG as of Nov 4, 2026 and MNA as of Jul 31, 2026	$139.1bn	$252m
Holdings
Measure	AGG	MNA
Holdings in common	not published
Risk
Measure	AGG	MNA
Correlation with the S&P 500’s weekly returns		+0.22
Beta to the S&P 500		+0.05: about 0.05% for each 1%
Its average week when the S&P 500 fell		fell 0.00%
Down-week capture		0.2%
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 MNA NYLIM Merger Arbitrage ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Alternatives ETF

Issuer iShares New York Life Investments

What it is Tracks an index of US aggregate bonds Event driven

Total return, 1 year +0.2% +2.9%

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% 0.78%

Holdings 13462 not read by ETFIQ

Net assets, AGG as of Nov 4, 2026 and MNA as of Jul 31, 2026 $139.1bn $252m

AGG and MNA 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.

MNA

MNA is an event driven 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 +0.22 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of +0.05, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 0.05% the same way. The S&P 500 fell in 26 of those 52 weeks, by 1.07% on average. In the same weeks MNA fell 0.00% on average, a down-week capture of 0.2%. Over the same 52 weeks MNA returned +2.9% and a Treasury bill fund +3.7%, so it finished 0.7 percentage points behind cash.

Questions people ask

Are AGG and MNA in the same category?: AGG is a bond ETF and MNA 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 MNA?: In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned +0.2% and MNA +2.9%.
Which is cheaper, AGG or MNA?: AGG is cheaper, by 0.75 percentage points a year. That is about $75 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

AGG vs MRGR AGG vs RSBA AGG vs MKTN AGG vs ASGM BND vs MNA MNA vs TLT GLD vs MNA MNA 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 →MNA on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →AGG dividend history →AGG holdings →MNA dividend history →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

AGG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

AGG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for AGG ↗

MNA filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

MNA prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

New York Life Investments website ↗

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

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

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