Which returned more over the last year, BOND or BOXX?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BOND returned −1.4% and BOXX +4.0%.

Which is cheaper, BOND or BOXX?

BOXX is cheaper, by 0.35 percentage points a year. That is about $35 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

BOND vs BOXX: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, BOND returned −1.4% to BOXX's +4.0%, and BOXX charges 0.19% to BOND's 0.54%.

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Net assets: $8.3bn on Jun 30, 2026 for PIMCO Active Bond Exchange-Traded Fund, and $14.5bn on Oct 28, 2026 for Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF.

BOND on its own →BOXX on its own →

At a glance

−1.4%

BOND total return, 1 year

+4.0%

BOXX total return, 1 year

0.54%

BOND expense ratio

0.19%

BOXX expense ratio

Pair scorecard

BOXX costs 0.35 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.4 points.

BOND vs BOXX: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	BOND	BOXX
Return
Measure	BOND	BOXX
Total return, 1 year	−1.4%	+4.0%
Drawdown
Measure	BOND	BOXX
Below its high	3.1%, high on Feb 27, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	BOND	BOXX
What it tracks	No index, actively managed	No index, actively managed
Cost and size
Measure	BOND	BOXX
Expense ratio	0.54%	0.19%
Net assets, BOND as of Jun 30, 2026 and BOXX as of Oct 28, 2026	$8.3bn	$14.5bn
Holdings
Measure	BOND	BOXX
Holdings in common	not published

Method

Risk and return

Jan 6, 2023 to Oct 23, 2026 · 198 weekly returns

BOND BOXX

Return

Total return edge BOXX +15.0% +18.9%

Annualized edge BOXX +3.7% +4.6%

Price return edge BOXX −4.0% +18.6%

Risk

Volatility edge BOXX 5.5% 0.2%

Max drawdown edge BOXX −6.6% −0.1%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge BOND −0.14 −0.25

Sortino edge BOND −0.20 −0.35

Calmar 0.57 Not measured

Reading

BOXX returned more: +18.9% to +15.0%. BOXX swung less: 0.2% to 5.5%. BOXX fell less at its worst: −0.1% to −6.6%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: BOND vs BOXX: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	BOND	BOXX	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+15.0%	+18.9%	BOXX	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+3.7%	+4.6%	BOXX	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−4.0%	+18.6%	BOXX	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	5.5%	0.2%	BOXX	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	4.0%	0.2%	BOXX	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−6.6%	−0.1%	BOXX	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	−0.14	−0.25	BOND	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	−0.20	−0.35	BOND	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.57	Not measured		Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 198 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

Side by side

BOND PIMCO Active Bond Exchange-Traded Fund BOXX Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer PIMCO Alpha Architect

What it is Actively managed Actively managed

Total return, 1 year −1.4% +4.0%

Its benchmark over the same days −1.4% (AGG) not measured

Gap to its benchmark 0.0 pts vs AGG not measured

Expense ratio 0.54% 0.19%

Holdings 1565 not counted

Net assets, BOND as of Jun 30, 2026 and BOXX as of Oct 28, 2026 $8.3bn $14.5bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-979168CE33

BOND and BOXX do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 BOND returned −1.4% and BOXX +4.0% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 5.4 points.
Cost. BOND charges 0.54% of assets a year and BOXX 0.19%, a gap of 0.35 points.
What each follows (similar). Both follow No index, actively managed.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

BOND

BOND is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −1.4% with distributions reinvested, against −1.4% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.54% a year. It sat 3.1% below its high of Feb 27, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

BOXX

BOXX is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +4.0% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.19% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, BOND or BOXX?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BOND returned −1.4% and BOXX +4.0%.
Which is cheaper, BOND or BOXX?: BOXX is cheaper, by 0.35 percentage points a year. That is about $35 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BOND vs VBIL BOND vs VUSB BOND vs MINT BOND vs USFR BOXX vs IUSB BOXX vs GBIL BOXX vs ICSH BOXX vs TBIL

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

BOND filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

BOND prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

PIMCO website ↗

BOXX filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

BOXX prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Alpha Architect website ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, BOND against BOXX, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/bond-vs-boxx

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