AGGS vs IUSB

AGGSCHarbor Disciplined Bond ETF (AGGS)

IUSBAiShares Core Universal USD Bond ETF

In short

AGGS Harbor hands the keys to Income Research + Management, a Boston bond boutique whose day job is institutional money, and lets it run an active core bond book at a price near the middle of an index-dominated pack.

IUSB Most core bond funds stop at investment grade. IUSB keeps going, folding high-yield USD debt into the same wrapper across roughly 18,000 bonds, for 0.06% a year.

Stated mandate

AGGS The Fund seeks total return.

IUSB The Fund seeks to track an index of U.S.-dollar-denominated bonds spanning investment-grade and high-yield sectors.

Why people hold it

• AGGS Subadvised since its 2024 launch by Income Research + Management, an independent fixed income firm that manages bond portfolios for institutional and private clients.sec.govharborcapital.com
• At 0.35%, it charges about what the typical aggregate-bond ETF does, which is unusual for a portfolio picked bond by bond rather than copied from an index.
• Pays monthly across roughly 200 positions, so income lands on a steady cadence instead of quarterly lumps.
• Stays in its lane: total return from a diversified book of mostly US dollar bonds, matching what the prospectus describes.

• IUSB 0.06% a year, a fraction of what the typical broad bond fund in its category charges, and iShares has run it since 2014.
• Roughly 18,000 bonds spanning investment-grade and high-yield sectors, so one ticker covers ground a plain Agg tracker leaves on the table.ishares.com
• Tracks its index closely, trades heavily, and sits on a multi-billion-dollar asset base. Income is paid monthly.
• Among the strongest implementations in a crowded field of nearly 200 core bond funds.

Worth knowing

• AGGS Thinly traded on a small asset base, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than the giant index bond funds.
• Index rivals BND, SPAB and SCHZ charge 0.03%, so the active work here starts with a real fee gap to make up.
• Launched in 2024, so the track record is short and covers a narrow slice of rate history.

• IUSB That high-yield sleeve is the trade-off: more credit risk than an investment-grade-only fund, and more movement when spreads widen.
• BND, SPAB and SCHZ charge 0.03%, half IUSB's fee, but they stay inside investment grade.
• Payouts land monthly, but the amount floats with the coupons underneath. Nothing about the income stream is fixed.

Full AGGS profile⁠

Full IUSB profile⁠