Are AGG and QTR in the same category?

AGG is a bond ETF and QTR 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 QTR?

In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned +0.2% and QTR +6.0%.

Which is cheaper, AGG or QTR?

AGG is cheaper, by 0.22 percentage points a year. That is about $22 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Across categories

AGG vs QTR: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, AGG returned +0.2% to QTR's +6.0%, and AGG charges 0.03% to QTR's 0.25%.

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Net assets: $139.1bn on Nov 4, 2026 for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF, and $10m on Oct 12, 2026 for Global X NASDAQ 100 Tail Risk ETF.

AGG on its own →QTR on its own →

At a glance

+0.2%

AGG total return, 1 year

+6.0%

QTR total return, 1 year

0.03%

AGG expense ratio

0.25%

QTR expense ratio

Pair scorecard

AGG costs 0.22 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.8 points; AGG is far larger, $137.3bn against $10m.

AGG vs QTR: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	AGG	QTR
Return
Measure	AGG	QTR
Total return, 1 year	+0.2%	+6.0%
Total return, 52 weeks		+5.4%
Against its benchmark
Measure	AGG	QTR
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index	not published
Treasury bills, 52 weeks		+3.7%
Against cash		1.7 points ahead
Cost and size
Measure	AGG	QTR
Expense ratio	0.03%	0.25%
Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026	$137.3bn	$10m
Holdings
Measure	AGG	QTR
Holdings in common	not published
Risk
Measure	AGG	QTR
Correlation with the S&P 500’s weekly returns		+0.91
Beta to the S&P 500		+1.34: about 1.34% for each 1%
Its average week when the S&P 500 fell		fell 1.79%
Down-week capture		167.0%
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 QTR Global X NASDAQ 100 Tail Risk ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Alternatives ETF

Issuer iShares Global X

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

Total return, 1 year +0.2% +6.0%

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

Gap to its benchmark 0.0 pts vs SCHZ −8.8 pts vs VOO

Expense ratio 0.03% 0.25%

Holdings 13462 not read by ETFIQ

Net assets, AGG as of Nov 4, 2026 and QTR as of Oct 12, 2026 $139.1bn $10m

AGG and QTR 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.

QTR

QTR 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 +0.91 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of +1.34, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 1.34% the same way. The S&P 500 fell in 26 of those 52 weeks, by 1.07% on average. In the same weeks QTR fell 1.79% on average, a down-week capture of 167.0%. Over the same 52 weeks QTR returned +5.4% and a Treasury bill fund +3.7%, so it finished 1.7 percentage points ahead of cash.

Questions people ask

Are AGG and QTR in the same category?: AGG is a bond ETF and QTR 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 QTR?: In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned +0.2% and QTR +6.0%.
Which is cheaper, AGG or QTR?: AGG is cheaper, by 0.22 percentage points a year. That is about $22 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

AGG vs XTR AGG vs QBUL AGG vs QBER AGG vs ATTR BND vs QTR QTR vs TLT GLD vs QTR QQQ vs QTR

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

Sources and dates

AGG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

AGG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for AGG ↗

QTR filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

QTR prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Global X page for QTR ↗

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

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

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