Category Review
Municipal bond funds are down for the year after a third-quarter selloff erased the first-half gain
BNY Mellon Core Bond ETF
$40.04+0.03 (+0.07%)
- 0.00%
- $1.5B
- −1.9%
- 4.65%
- 0.5M sh
- $39.99
- low $39.67high $43.07
The ETF.net BKAG Grade
A
Score 83 out of 100
- 6 of 117
Score 83 of 100 falls in the A band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.
Cost
The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.A100 out of 100Rank 1 of 117Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A100 out of 100Rank 1 of 101Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.C45 out of 100Rank 73 of 116Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.A74 out of 100Rank 16 of 117Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.A75 out of 100Rank 21 of 116Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.B68 out of 100Rank 37 of 117
Our read on BKAG
AA core bond index fund that charges nothing. BKAG tracks the same Bloomberg US Aggregate benchmark the giants track, at a 0.00% expense ratio, and has been doing it since 2020.
The fund seeks to track the Bloomberg US Aggregate Total Return Index.
Why people hold it
- A 0.00% expense ratio. The median fund in the core bond group charges 0.36%, and even the cheap giants (BND, SPAB, SCHZ) charge 0.03%.
- Tracks the Bloomberg US Aggregate Total Return Index tightly, one of the closest index-following records in its peer group.
- Broad by design: roughly 4,000 bonds in the portfolio, with distributions paid monthly rather than quarterly.
- A multi-billion-dollar fund from BNY Mellon, wrapped in a standard 1940 Act ETF structure with no exotic mechanics.
Worth knowing
- Rate risk is the trade-off. This is full-market bond exposure, and bond prices move opposite interest rates. Volatility is the weakest part of its profile.
- Moderately traded, not one of the volume monsters in the category. Spreads and limit orders matter more here than with the largest core bond names.
- At zero, the fee edge over 0.03% rivals is real but small in dollar terms, so tracking and trading costs do more of the work.
BKAG Holdings
- Bonds
- 4,086
- 7%
- Dreyfus Institutional Preferred Government Money M
Geography
- United States92.62%
- Canada1.50%
- United Kingdom0.92%
- Japan0.84%
- Luxembourg0.62%
- Philippines0.44%
- Mexico0.44%
- Germany0.36%
- 2.26%
BKAG Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
Not enough history yet.
BKAG$9,806
Returns run to the Oct 12, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
| Period | BKAG |
|---|---|
| Year to date | −2.3% |
| 1 month | −1.1% |
| 3 months | −2.5% |
| 1 year | −1.9% |
| 3 years | +4.4% |
| 5 years | −0.5% |
| 10 years | — |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | BKAG |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | −2.3% | |
| 2025 | +7.2% | |
| 2024 | +1.2% | |
| 2023 | +5.7% | |
| 2022 | −13.3% | |
| 2021 | −1.5% | |
| 2020 | +2.2% |
BKAG in the news
BKAG Dividends
- 4.65%
- $1.86
- $0.24 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
BKAG Risk
- 5.6%
How it’s calculated: standard deviation
The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.
- −0.07
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio
Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.
Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.
- −17.4%
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown
The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.
Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.
- 1.00
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
BKAG Cost
0.00%
Other funds in US Aggregate Bond
- ABNDVanguard Total Bond Market ETFExpense ratio 0.03%1 year return −1.9%
- AIUSBiShares Core Universal USD Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.06%1 year return −1.5%
- AIAGGiShares Core International Aggregate Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.07%1 year return +0.4%
- AEAGGiShares ESG Aware U.S. Aggregate Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.10%1 year return −2.1%
- ABBAGJPMorgan BetaBuilders U.S. Aggregate Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.03%1 year return −2.0%