AGG vs ZHOG

AGGAiShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF

ZHOGCF/m 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.

ZHOG A go-anywhere active bond fund in a category ruled by index trackers. F/m's team roams U.S. fixed income for relative value, keeps duration short and average credit quality investment grade, and pays monthly. Fee: 0.43%, no waiver.

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.

ZHOG The Fund seeks attractive income by identifying undervalued and opportunistic sectors and securities in U.S. fixed-income markets, while generally limiting duration and maintaining average investment-grade credit quality.

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.

• ZHOG Active and unconstrained: the mandate hunts undervalued sectors and securities across U.S. fixed income while generally limiting duration and keeping average credit quality investment grade.fminvest.com
• A focused book of roughly 60 positions, so the holdings list is short enough to actually read and see where the managers are leaning.
• Income is paid out monthly.
• Since January 1, 2026 it measures itself against the Bloomberg Short-Term U.S. Aggregate Index, a short-duration yardstick, while staying actively managed rather than tracking it.fminvest.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.

• ZHOG At 0.43% (gross and net, no fee waiver) it sits above the category median, and well above index anchors like AGG, BND and SCHZ at 0.03%.
• A small fund that trades lightly, so spreads and order size matter more here than with the category's giants.
• Outcomes ride on the team's calls, and that team was reshuffled effective January 1, 2026. The fund itself only launched in 2023.fminvest.com

Full AGG profile⁠

Full ZHOG profile⁠