AGG vs EDGF

AGGAiShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF

EDGFD3EDGE Dynamic Fixed 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.

EDGF A bond fund built to move. 3EDGE's macro model shifts the mix across Treasuries, TIPS, investment grade and high yield, using other bond ETFs as building blocks. Flexibility priced at 0.79%, with no fee waiver in the mix.

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.

EDGF The Fund seeks high current income. It dynamically invests across multiple fixed-income sectors through selected ETFs, with allocations adjusted using a quantitative and dual-momentum process.

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.

• EDGF Go-anywhere mandate: at least 80% in bonds, with credit quality and duration actively dialed up or down rather than pinned to an index.sec.gov
• Runs as a fund of funds, so the holdings are liquid, published bond ETFs picked on index, credit quality and duration, not an opaque bond sleeve.sec.gov
• The 0.79% fee is the real fee: net equals gross, with no waiver propping it up and no step-up risk when one lapses.
• Seeks current income and pays quarterly.

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.

• EDGF Cost is the hurdle: 0.79% against AGG, BND, SPAB and SCHZ at 0.03%, and above the category median fee.
• Allocations shift with the model, so results can look nothing like a plain Agg tracker in either direction.sec.gov
• Young fund, launched in October 2024, so there is little history across different rate environments.

Full AGG profile⁠

Full EDGF profile⁠