Are AGG and TAIL in the same category?

AGG is a bond ETF and TAIL 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 TAIL?

In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned +0.2% and TAIL −13.1%.

Which is cheaper, AGG or TAIL?

AGG is cheaper, by 0.57 percentage points a year. That is about $57 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Across categories

AGG vs TAIL: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, AGG returned +0.2% to TAIL's −13.1%, and AGG charges 0.03% to TAIL's 0.60%.

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Net assets: $139.1bn on Nov 4, 2026 for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF, and $147m on Jul 31, 2026 for Cambria Tail Risk ETF.

AGG on its own →TAIL on its own →

At a glance

+0.2%

AGG total return, 1 year

−13.1%

TAIL total return, 1 year

0.03%

AGG expense ratio

0.60%

TAIL expense ratio

Pair scorecard

AGG costs 0.57 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 13.3 points.

AGG vs TAIL: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	AGG	TAIL
Return
Measure	AGG	TAIL
Total return, 1 year	+0.2%	−13.1%
Total return, 52 weeks		−12.4%
Against its benchmark
Measure	AGG	TAIL
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index	not published
Treasury bills, 52 weeks		+3.7%
Against cash		16.0 points behind
Cost and size
Measure	AGG	TAIL
Expense ratio	0.03%	0.60%
Net assets, AGG as of Nov 4, 2026 and TAIL as of Jul 31, 2026	$139.1bn	$147m
Holdings
Measure	AGG	TAIL
Holdings in common	not published
Risk
Measure	AGG	TAIL
Correlation with the S&P 500’s weekly returns		−0.74
Beta to the S&P 500		−0.36: about 0.36% for each 1%
Its average week when the S&P 500 fell		rose 0.17%
Down-week capture		−15.9%
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 TAIL Cambria Tail Risk ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Alternatives ETF

Issuer iShares Cambria

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

Total return, 1 year +0.2% −13.1%

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

Gap to its benchmark 0.0 pts vs SCHZ −27.9 pts vs VOO

Expense ratio 0.03% 0.60%

Holdings 13462 not read by ETFIQ

Net assets, AGG as of Nov 4, 2026 and TAIL as of Jul 31, 2026 $139.1bn $147m

AGG and TAIL 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.

TAIL

TAIL 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 −0.74 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of −0.36, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 0.36% the other way. The S&P 500 fell in 26 of those 52 weeks, by 1.07% on average. In the same weeks TAIL rose 0.17% on average, a down-week capture of −15.9%. Over the same 52 weeks TAIL returned −12.4% and a Treasury bill fund +3.7%, so it finished 16.0 percentage points behind cash.

Questions people ask

Are AGG and TAIL in the same category?: AGG is a bond ETF and TAIL 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 TAIL?: In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned +0.2% and TAIL −13.1%.
Which is cheaper, AGG or TAIL?: AGG is cheaper, by 0.57 percentage points a year. That is about $57 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

AGG vs SHDG AGG vs HOLA AGG vs HEQT AGG vs HEDG BND vs TAIL TAIL vs TLT GLD vs TAIL QQQ vs TAIL

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

Sources and dates

AGG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

AGG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for AGG ↗

TAIL filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

TAIL prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Cambria website ↗

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

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

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