Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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AOR vs QUAL: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, AOR returned +7.8% to QUAL's +13.1%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 28, 2026: $3.9bn for iShares Core 60/40 Balanced Allocation ETF and $48.2bn for iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF.

At a glance
+7.8%
AOR total return, 1 year
+13.1%
QUAL total return, 1 year
0.15%
AOR expense ratio
0.15%
QUAL expense ratio

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.15% a year; their one-year returns differ by 5.3 points; QUAL is 12.4 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

AOR vs QUAL: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureAORQUAL
Return
Total return, 1 year+7.8%+13.1%
Benchmark
What it tracks60/40 Balanced AllocationMSCI USA Sector Neutral Quality Index
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.15%0.15%
Net assets$3.9bn$48.2bn
Holdings
Holdings in common0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund99.9%44.5%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Jul 26, 2013 to Oct 23, 2026 · 691 weekly returns
AOR QUAL
Return
Total return edge QUAL +157.6% +444.7%
Annualized edge QUAL +7.4% +13.6%
Price return edge QUAL +86.7% +346.8%
Risk
Volatility edge AOR 10.0% 16.2%
Max drawdown edge AOR −22.2% −31.4%
Downside capture 70.7% 98.8%
Beta 0.64 0.97
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge QUAL 0.57 0.75
Sortino edge QUAL 0.81 1.09
Treynor 0.124 0.126
Calmar edge QUAL 0.33 0.43
Against the benchmark
Alpha +0.5% a year +0.6% a year
Alpha t-stat 0.36 0.59
Information ratio −0.42 0.06
Tracking error 8.6% 3.7%

Each against its own benchmark: AOR against ACWI, Nov 21, 2008 to Oct 23, 2026; QUAL against MLRG, Jul 26, 2013 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

QUAL returned more: +444.7% to +157.6%. AOR swung less: 10.0% to 16.2%. AOR fell less at its worst: −22.2% to −31.4%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured
Open ↓
Risk and return: AOR vs QUAL: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureAORQUALEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+157.6%+444.7%QUALPrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+7.4%+13.6%QUALTotal return as a yearly rate.
Price return+86.7%+346.8%QUALPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility10.0%16.2%AORSpread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation7.0%11.2%AORLike volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−22.2%−31.4%AORDeepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture53.1%98.8%Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture70.7%98.8%Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta0.640.97Not an edgeHow far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared0.770.95Not an edgeShare of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.570.75QUALReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino0.811.09QUALReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor0.1240.126Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar0.330.43QUALAnnualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
BenchmarkACWIMLRGThe ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha+0.5% a year+0.6% a yearNot significantYearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat0.360.59Not an edgeHow sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range−2.3% to +3.3%−1.4% to +2.6%Includes zeroThe 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio−0.420.06Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error8.6%3.7%Not an edgeHow far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 691 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

0%

By the books each fund has filed, AOR and QUAL hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first AOR QUAL
Only in one fund ↓
Only in AOR
ISHARES CORE S&P ETF TRUST 35.70%
ISHARES CORE UNIV USD BOND ETF 32.15%
ISHARES CORE MSCI INT DEVEL ETF 17.10%
ISHARES CORE MSCI EMERGING MARKETS 6.34%
iShares Core Intl Aggregate Bnd ET 5.81%
ISHARES CORE S&P MID-CAP ETF 1.89%
ISHARES CORE S&P SMALL-CAP ETF 0.92%
Only in QUAL
MICROSOFT 8.09%
APPLE 7.38%
NVIDIA 6.28%
META PLATFORMS CLASS A 4.06%
ELI LILLY 4.04%
TJX 3.50%
VISA CLASS A 3.44%
LAM RESEARCH 2.84%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

AOR iShares Core 60/40 Balanced Allocation ETF QUAL iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF
Where it sits Allocation ETF Stock ETF
What it is Tracks an index of 60/40 Balanced Allocation Tracks the MSCI USA Quality Factor
Total return, 1 year +7.8% +13.1%
Its benchmark over the same days +13.4% (ACWI) +13.6% (MLRG)
Gap to its benchmark −5.6 pts vs ACWI −0.5 pts vs MLRG
Expense ratio 0.15% 0.15%
Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 97.2%
Holdings 7 119
Net assets $3.9bn $48.2bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-A9474E6D1D

AOR and QUAL do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

  1. What each follows. AOR follows 60/40 Balanced Allocation and QUAL follows MSCI USA Sector Neutral Quality Index.
  2. Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
  3. One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 AOR returned +7.8% and QUAL +13.1% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 5.3 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund
AOR

AOR tracks an index of 60/40 Balanced Allocation. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +7.8% with distributions reinvested, against +13.4% for its benchmark, the MSCI All Country World Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 7 positions, with the top ten at 99.9%.

QUAL

QUAL tracks the MSCI USA Quality Factor. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.1% with distributions reinvested, against +13.6% for its benchmark, the MSCI USA Index. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 97% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 119 positions, with the top ten at 44.5%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, AOR or QUAL?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AOR returned +7.8% and QUAL +13.1%.
Which is cheaper, AOR or QUAL?
Neither: AOR and QUAL both charge 0.15% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do AOR and QUAL overlap with the S&P 500?
By their latest filed holdings, 0% of AOR and 97% of QUAL by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.
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ETFIQ, AOR against QUAL, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/aor-vs-qual

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