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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BOXX returned +4.0% and YEAR +3.0%.

Which is cheaper, BOXX or YEAR?

BOXX is cheaper, by 0.06 percentage points a year. That is about $6 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

BOXX vs YEAR: Differences, Returns & Fees

Share on X Download as PDF

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, BOXX returned +4.0% to YEAR's +3.0%, and BOXX charges 0.19% to YEAR's 0.25%.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about BOXX and YEAR

Net assets: $14.5bn on Oct 28, 2026 for Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF, and $1.5bn on Aug 31, 2026 for AB Ultra Short Income ETF.

BOXX on its own →YEAR on its own →

At a glance

+4.0%

BOXX total return, 1 year

+3.0%

YEAR total return, 1 year

0.19%

BOXX expense ratio

0.25%

YEAR expense ratio

Pair scorecard

BOXX costs 0.06 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.0 point; BOXX is 9.0 times larger.

BOXX vs YEAR: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	BOXX	YEAR
Return
Measure	BOXX	YEAR
Total return, 1 year	+4.0%	+3.0%
Benchmark
Measure	BOXX	YEAR
What it tracks	No index, actively managed	No index, actively managed
Cost and size
Measure	BOXX	YEAR
Expense ratio	0.19%	0.25%
Net assets, as of Oct 26, 2026	$14.4bn	$1.6bn
Holdings
Measure	BOXX	YEAR
Holdings in common	report dates differ

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026. Method

Risk and return

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

BOXX YEAR

Return

Total return edge YEAR (slight) +18.9% +19.3%

Annualized edge Tie +4.6% +4.7%

Price return edge BOXX +18.6% +0.3%

Risk

Volatility edge BOXX 0.2% 0.8%

Max drawdown edge BOXX −0.1% −0.2%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge YEAR −0.25 0.04

Sortino edge YEAR −0.35 0.06

Calmar Not measured 19.17

Reading

YEAR returned slightly more: +19.3% to +18.9%. BOXX swung less: 0.2% to 0.8%. BOXX fell less at its worst: −0.1% to −0.2%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: BOXX vs YEAR: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	BOXX	YEAR	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+18.9%	+19.3%	YEAR (slight)	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+4.6%	+4.7%	Tie	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+18.6%	+0.3%	BOXX	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	0.2%	0.8%	BOXX	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	0.2%	0.5%	BOXX	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−0.1%	−0.2%	BOXX	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	−0.25	0.04	YEAR	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	−0.35	0.06	YEAR	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	Not measured	19.17		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

BOXX Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF YEAR AB Ultra Short Income ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer Alpha Architect AllianceBernstein

What it is Actively managed Actively managed

Total return, 1 year +4.0% +3.0%

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

Gap to its benchmark not measured +4.4 pts vs AGG

Expense ratio 0.19% 0.25%

Holdings not counted 145

Net assets, BOXX as of Oct 28, 2026 and YEAR as of Aug 31, 2026 $14.5bn $1.5bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-517CBA7EAD

BOXX and YEAR are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?

Size. BOXX has $14.4bn in net assets and YEAR $1.6bn (net assets, as of Oct 26, 2026); BOXX is 9.0 times larger.
What each follows (similar). Both follow No index, actively managed.
One-year total return (similar). Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 BOXX returned +4.0% and YEAR +3.0% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 1.0 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

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.

YEAR

YEAR is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +3.0% with distributions reinvested, against −1.4% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.25% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, BOXX or YEAR?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BOXX returned +4.0% and YEAR +3.0%.
Which is cheaper, BOXX or YEAR?: BOXX is cheaper, by 0.06 percentage points a year. That is about $6 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BOXX vs VGUS BOXX vs IBDR BOXX vs VNLA BILS vs BOXX IBDR vs YEAR IBTH vs YEAR CLIP vs YEAR VBIL vs YEAR

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

BOXX filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

BOXX prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Alpha Architect website ↗

YEAR filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

YEAR prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

Open data →

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