AGG vs GVI

AGGAiShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF

GVIAiShares Intermediate Government/Credit 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.

GVI Most core bond funds swallow the whole market, long end included. GVI keeps to the middle: US government and investment-grade corporate bonds maturing in one to ten years, nothing longer. Running since 2007, 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.

GVI The fund seeks to track an index of U.S. government and investment-grade corporate bonds maturing from one to ten years. Its stated purpose is to help balance income and interest-rate risk.

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.

• GVI The mandate is narrow on purpose: US government and investment-grade corporate bonds, one to ten years to maturity, built to balance income against interest-rate risk.ishares.com
• 0.20% a year, well under the typical fee in its core-bond peer group, from a fund that has been trading since 2007.
• It holds what its Bloomberg index holds, closely, which is why it rates as one of the stronger builds among the core bond funds we grade.
• Income lands monthly, and with billions in assets this is an established listing rather than a thin niche product.

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.

• GVI Whole-market core rivals BND, SPAB and SCHZ run at 0.03%. The intermediate-only cut costs more than the everything-bond version.
• Capping maturities at ten years softens rate swings, it does not remove them, and the corporate sleeve carries credit risk Treasuries do not.ishares.com
• Trading is moderate rather than heavy, so spreads can widen on large or hurried orders.

Full AGG profile⁠

Full GVI profile⁠