AGG vs SCCR

AGGAiShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF

SCCRASchwab 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.

SCCR A 2025 arrival from Schwab: total return plus income across US dollar bonds, roughly 600 positions, 0.16% a year. That is well under half the typical core bond ETF fee, though the plain index giants still undercut it.

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.

SCCR The fund seeks total return while generating income by investing in U.S. dollar-denominated debt securities.

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.

• SCCR Runs 0.16% a year against a 0.36% median for the core bond crowd, so a smaller slice of the coupon goes to the manager.
• Pays monthly and spreads across about 600 US dollar debt securities, so no single issuer sets the tone.
• The portfolio matches the mandate on the label closely, and it stands in the top tier of a very crowded core bond field.
• Already a multi-billion-dollar fund with Schwab's bond desk behind it, which is rare shelf space for a fund this new.

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.

• SCCR Cheaper seats exist in the same aisle: BND, SPAB and Schwab's own SCHZ each charge 0.03%, a fraction of this fee.
• Launched in February 2025, so the track record is short and covers only one stretch of the rate cycle.
• This is rate-sensitive core bond exposure: when yields rise, bond prices fall, and the fund moves with them.

Full AGG profile⁠

Full SCCR profile⁠