Are AGG and PHEQ in the same category?

AGG is a bond ETF and PHEQ 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 PHEQ?

In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned +0.2% and PHEQ +11.2%.

Which is cheaper, AGG or PHEQ?

AGG is cheaper, by 0.26 percentage points a year. That is about $26 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Across categories

AGG vs PHEQ: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, AGG returned +0.2% to PHEQ's +11.2%, and AGG charges 0.03% to PHEQ's 0.29%.

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Net assets: $139.1bn on Nov 4, 2026 for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF, and $140m on Jun 30, 2026 for Parametric Hedged Equity ETF.

AGG on its own →PHEQ on its own →

At a glance

+0.2%

AGG total return, 1 year

+11.2%

PHEQ total return, 1 year

0.03%

AGG expense ratio

0.29%

PHEQ expense ratio

Pair scorecard

AGG costs 0.26 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 11.0 points.

AGG vs PHEQ: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	AGG	PHEQ
Return
Measure	AGG	PHEQ
Total return, 1 year	+0.2%	+11.2%
Total return, 52 weeks		+10.9%
Against its benchmark
Measure	AGG	PHEQ
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index	not published
Treasury bills, 52 weeks		+3.7%
Against cash		7.2 points ahead
Cost and size
Measure	AGG	PHEQ
Expense ratio	0.03%	0.29%
Net assets, AGG as of Nov 4, 2026 and PHEQ as of Jun 30, 2026	$139.1bn	$140m
Holdings
Measure	AGG	PHEQ
Holdings in common	not published
Risk
Measure	AGG	PHEQ
Correlation with the S&P 500’s weekly returns		+0.94
Beta to the S&P 500		+0.40: about 0.40% for each 1%
Its average week when the S&P 500 fell		fell 0.34%
Down-week capture		31.6%
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 PHEQ Parametric Hedged Equity ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Alternatives ETF

Issuer iShares Parametric

What it is Tracks an index of US aggregate bonds Hedged equity

Total return, 1 year +0.2% +11.2%

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

Gap to its benchmark 0.0 pts vs SCHZ −3.6 pts vs VOO

Expense ratio 0.03% 0.29%

Holdings 13462 not read by ETFIQ

Net assets, AGG as of Nov 4, 2026 and PHEQ as of Jun 30, 2026 $139.1bn $140m

AGG and PHEQ 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.

PHEQ

PHEQ is a hedged equity 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 +0.94 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of +0.40, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 0.40% the same way. The S&P 500 fell in 26 of those 52 weeks, by 1.07% on average. In the same weeks PHEQ fell 0.34% on average, a down-week capture of 31.6%. Over the same 52 weeks PHEQ returned +10.9% and a Treasury bill fund +3.7%, so it finished 7.2 percentage points ahead of cash.

Questions people ask

Are AGG and PHEQ in the same category?: AGG is a bond ETF and PHEQ 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 PHEQ?: In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned +0.2% and PHEQ +11.2%.
Which is cheaper, AGG or PHEQ?: AGG is cheaper, by 0.26 percentage points a year. That is about $26 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

AGG vs ZHDG AGG vs HEQQ AGG vs CCOR AGG vs QBUL BND vs PHEQ PHEQ vs TLT GLD vs PHEQ PHEQ 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 →PHEQ on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →AGG dividend history →AGG holdings →PHEQ dividend history →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

AGG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

AGG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for AGG ↗

PHEQ filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

PHEQ prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Parametric page for PHEQ ↗

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

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

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