Which returned more over the last year, AGG or VCLT?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned −1.4% and VCLT −5.9%.

Which is cheaper, AGG or VCLT?

Neither: AGG and VCLT both charge 0.03% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

AGG vs VCLT: Differences, Returns & Fees

Share on X Download as PDF

AGG's duration was 5.8 years on Aug 31, 2026 and VCLT's 12.0 on May 31, 2026; both charge 0.03%.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about AGG and VCLT

Net assets: $139.4bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF, and $7.5bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF.

AGG on its own →VCLT on its own →

At a glance

−1.4%

AGG total return, 1 year

−5.9%

VCLT total return, 1 year

0.03%

AGG expense ratio

0.03%

VCLT expense ratio

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.03% a year; their one-year returns differ by 4.5 points; AGG is 18.1 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

AGG vs VCLT: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	AGG	VCLT
Return
Measure	AGG	VCLT
Total return, 1 year	−1.4%	−5.9%
Drawdown
Measure	AGG	VCLT
Below its high	3.4%, high on Aug 4, 2020	17.8%, high on Sep 22, 2021
Benchmark
Measure	AGG	VCLT
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index	Bloomberg U.S. 10+ Year Corporate Bond Index
Cost and size
Measure	AGG	VCLT
Expense ratio	0.03%	0.03%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$135.7bn	$7.5bn
Holdings
Measure	AGG	VCLT
Holdings in common	7%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Dec 4, 2009 to Oct 23, 2026 · 881 weekly returns

AGG VCLT

Return

Total return edge VCLT +47.2% +101.2%

Annualized edge VCLT +2.3% +4.2%

Price return edge VCLT −8.5% −6.3%

Risk

Volatility edge AGG 4.5% 12.5%

Max drawdown edge AGG −18.2% −34.0%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge VCLT 0.19 0.27

Sortino edge VCLT 0.26 0.39

Calmar edge AGG (slight) 0.13 0.12

Reading

VCLT returned more: +101.2% to +47.2%. AGG swung less: 4.5% to 12.5%. AGG fell less at its worst: −18.2% to −34.0%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: AGG vs VCLT: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	AGG	VCLT	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+47.2%	+101.2%	VCLT	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+2.3%	+4.2%	VCLT	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−8.5%	−6.3%	VCLT	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	4.5%	12.5%	AGG	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	3.2%	8.7%	AGG	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−18.2%	−34.0%	AGG	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.19	0.27	VCLT	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.26	0.39	VCLT	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.13	0.12	AGG (slight)	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 881 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, AGG and VCLT hold 7% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

7% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first AGG VCLT

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 15, 2036 0.37% 0.11%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 15, 2036 0.39% 0.08%

U.S. Treasury Bonds, due May 15, 2046 0.05% 0.13%

Comcast Corp, due Jan 15, 2037 0.03% 0.08%

Anheuser-Busch Cos LLC / Anheuser-Busch InBev Worldwide Inc, due Feb 1, 2046 0.03% 0.37%

U.S. Treasury Bonds, due Feb 15, 2046 0.08% 0.02%

CVS Health Corp, due Mar 25, 2048 0.02% 0.33%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc/The, due Oct 1, 2037 0.02% 0.21%

Pfizer Investment Enterprises Pte Ltd, due May 19, 2053 0.02% 0.27%

Wells Fargo & Co, due Apr 4, 2051 0.02% 0.14%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc/The, due Jan 21, 2047 0.02% 0.15%

Boeing Co/The, due May 1, 2050 0.02% 0.27%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in AGG

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 15, 2035 0.41%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 15, 2034 0.40%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 28, 2030 0.40%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 15, 2034 0.40%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 15, 2034 0.39%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 15, 2035 0.39%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 15, 2033 0.38%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 15, 2035 0.38%

Only in VCLT

SHELL FINANCE US, due Dec 15, 2038 0.12%

HONEYWELL AEROSP, due Mar 16, 2056 0.11%

BLACKROCK FUND, due Mar 14, 2054 0.08%

CHARTER COMM OPT, due Apr 1, 2051 0.08%

HONEYWELL AEROSP, due Mar 16, 2046 0.08%

CHARTER COMM OPT, due Mar 1, 2050 0.08%

CHARTER COMM OPT, due Jun 1, 2052 0.07%

COTERRA ENERGY, due Feb 15, 2055 0.07%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

AGG iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF VCLT Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares Vanguard

What it is Tracks an index of US aggregate bonds Tracks an index of Long-Term Corporate Bond

Total return, 1 year −1.4% −5.9%

Its benchmark over the same days −1.3% (SCHZ) not measured

Gap to its benchmark −0.1 pts vs SCHZ not measured

Expense ratio 0.03% 0.03%

Holdings 13469 2562

Net assets, AGG as of Oct 27, 2026 and VCLT as of Sep 30, 2026 $139.4bn $7.5bn

AGG and VCLT on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-2959C7132C

AGG and VCLT do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

What each follows. AGG follows Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index and VCLT follows Bloomberg U.S. 10+ Year Corporate Bond Index.
Holdings in common. 7% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Aug 31, 2026 and May 31, 2026).
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 AGG returned −1.4% and VCLT −5.9% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 4.5 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.

Your saved page · Privacy.

Alert

About each fund

AGG

AGG tracks an index of US aggregate bonds. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −1.4% with distributions reinvested, against −1.3% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. It sat 3.4% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Oct 28, 2026.

VCLT

VCLT tracks an index of Long-Term Corporate Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −5.9% with distributions reinvested. It sat 17.8% below its high of Sep 22, 2021 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, AGG or VCLT?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned −1.4% and VCLT −5.9%.
Which is cheaper, AGG or VCLT?: Neither: AGG and VCLT both charge 0.03% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

AGG vs VGIT AGG vs BOND AGG vs JNK AGG vs SPAB BND vs VCLT SGOV vs VCLT BNDX vs VCLT VCIT vs VCLT

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

AGG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

AGG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for AGG ↗

VCLT filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VCLT prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VCLT ↗

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

How this is computed

Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, AGG against VCLT, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/agg-vs-vclt

Open data →

Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.