AGG vs CPAG

AGGAiShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF

CPAGBF/m Compoundr U.S. Aggregate 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.

CPAG A core U.S. bond fund built to compound rather than pay out. It tracks the Nasdaq Compoundr U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, and income stays inside the fund instead of landing in your account as cash.

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.

CPAG The fund seeks investment results corresponding to the Nasdaq Compoundr U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. It generally uses replication and may use representative sampling when full replication is not practicable.

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.

• CPAG Income compounds inside the fund instead of arriving as cash, so there is nothing to reinvest by hand.
• At 0.31% a year, it undercuts the typical fund in the core bond crowd.
• Simple machinery: replicate the index, and sample only when full replication is not practical. No side bets bolted onto the mandate.

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.

• CPAG The 0.03% giants (BND, SPAB, SCHZ) are right there. The compounding wrapper is what the extra fee buys.
• Launched in 2025, still small and thinly traded, so the record is short and spreads can run wider than the mega-Aggs. Limit orders earn their keep.
• Nothing shows up in your account to spend. That is a different rhythm from a core bond fund that pays monthly.

Full AGG profile⁠

Full CPAG profile⁠