AGG vs UITB

AGGAiShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF

UITBBVictoryShares Core Intermediate 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.

UITB Most core bond ETFs clone the Agg index for three basis points. This one is run by people: an active take on the intermediate investment-grade market, launched in 2017 under the USAA banner and flying Victory Capital's flag since 2019.

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.

UITB The Fund seeks high current income while limiting undue risk to principal. It invests mainly in debt securities and related instruments, with duration generally near that of the Bloomberg 1-3 Year Credit Index.

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.

• UITB Human-run, not index-bound: managers choose among Treasuries, corporates and mortgage bonds rather than owning whatever the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate benchmark weights dictate.vcm.com
• Roughly 1,100 bonds with an average maturity in the 3-to-10 year range. Core plumbing, not a bet on either end of the yield curve.vcm.com
• Cash goes out monthly, the cadence income-focused holders usually want from a bond sleeve.
• A multi-billion-dollar fund with a live record back to 2017, and the portfolio it actually holds lines up with the mandate its prospectus sets out.vcm.com

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.

• UITB It charges 0.38% a year while index peers BND, SPAB and SCHZ charge 0.03%. Active security selection is the thing you are paying that gap for.
• Intermediate maturities carry real interest-rate sensitivity: when yields rise, prices fall. This is not a short-duration parking spot.vcm.com
• Moderately traded rather than a volume giant, so spreads can widen in fast markets and limit orders do more work than market orders.

Full AGG profile⁠

Full UITB profile⁠