AGG vs CRDT

AGGAiShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF

CRDTFSimplify Opportunistic Income 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.

CRDT Not an index bond fund. CRDT roams high yield, investment grade and distressed debt hunting income, run by an alternatives shop that also handles the hedging, and it pays 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.

CRDT CRDT seeks current income as its primary objective, with long-term capital appreciation as a secondary objective.

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.

• CRDT Active across the credit spectrum: investment grade and high yield corporate bonds, preferred stock, Treasuries and bank loans, chosen by bottom-up research instead of an index.simplify.us
• Sub-advised by Asterozoa Capital, an alternatives manager responsible for both fixed income security selection and the fund's derivatives strategy.simplify.ussimplify.us 2
• The prospectus puts guardrails on the racy stuff: up to 15% in illiquid holdings such as distressed or private investments, and no more than 10% rated CCC or lower.simplify.us
• Pays monthly, with current income as the stated primary objective and long-term capital appreciation second.

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.

• CRDT The 0.99% expense ratio is alternatives-manager pricing next to index core bond funds like BND at 0.03%. Active credit selection has to cover that gap.
• Small and thinly traded, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than the giant core bond ETFs. Limit orders matter more here.
• Junk and distressed debt move more like stocks than Treasuries when credit sours, and the fund currently sits in the bottom quartile of our aggregate-bond group.simplify.us

Full AGG profile⁠

Full CRDT profile⁠