AGG vs BDBT

AGGAiShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF

BDBTBBluemonte Core Bond ETF

In short

AGG Launched in 2003, one of the first funds to pack the entire U.S. investment-grade bond market into a single ticker: Treasuries, corporates and mortgage bonds, three basis points a year, cash paid monthly.

BDBT An active manager's take on the plainest job in bonds: core fixed income at 0.22% net of a waiver through August 31, 2027, below the typical core bond fund, paid out monthly.

Stated mandate

AGG The fund seeks to track the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, providing broad exposure to the total U.S. investment-grade bond market.

BDBT The Fund seeks total return and income. It is actively managed and normally invests at least 80% of net assets, including investment borrowings, in investments providing exposure to bonds.

Why people hold it

• AGG 0.03% a year against a peer-group median near 0.36%. On a bond fund, the fee comes straight out of the coupon, so the gap matters more than it looks.
• A $100 billion-plus fund and very actively traded, the kind of depth that keeps bid-ask costs down for retail-sized orders.
• Tracks the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate closely, with one of the tightest index-following records in its peer group. Income is distributed monthly.
• Running since 2003, giving it one of the longest track records among U.S. bond index ETFs.

• BDBT Active management priced like a cheap fund: 0.22% net of a waiver through August 31, 2027 (0.27% gross), below the category median across 114 funds.
• Distributions land monthly, not in quarterly lumps.
• Does what the prospectus says: total return and income, with at least 80% of net assets in bond exposure, and a portfolio that lines up closely with that mandate.sec.gov
• Lands in the upper half of a crowded broad bond field whose leaders are nearly all index trackers.

Worth knowing

• AGG Investment grade and U.S. dollar only. High-yield debt and foreign bonds sit outside the mandate, so this is designed as core ballast rather than a yield hunt.
• Rate risk comes as it comes. The index gets tracked whether yields rise or fall, with no manager stepping in to shorten duration.
• The same index is sold by SPAB, SCHZ and BBAG at the same 0.03%. The portfolio is the commodity here; scale and trading depth are the tiebreakers.

• BDBT The index giants are far cheaper: AGG, BND, SPAB and SCHZ each charge 0.03%. You are paying up for the active call.
• The 0.22% depends on a waiver running through August 31, 2027. The stated gross fee is 0.27%.
• Launched June 2025, so the record is short and spans one rate backdrop. Trading is moderate rather than heavy, so limit orders earn their keep.

Full AGG profile⁠

Full BDBT profile⁠