AGZ vs BGRN

AGZ—iShares Agency Bond ETF

BGRN—iShares USD Green Bond ETF

In short

AGZ A one-job bond fund: debt issued by U.S. government-sponsored entities, tracked by index, at 0.15%. Narrow by design, and running since 2008.

BGRN Green bonds, indexed. BGRN tracks global investment-grade dollar bonds whose proceeds are earmarked for environmental projects, charges 0.20%, and pays monthly. A literal mandate, not an ESG tilt.

Stated mandate

AGZ The fund aims to track an index consisting of U.S. agency bonds that are issued by government-sponsored entities.

BGRN The fund seeks to track an index of global investment-grade USD green bonds whose proceeds support environmental projects.

Why people hold it

• AGZ Charges 0.15% a year, well under the roughly 0.40% median for the bond funds we cover. Cheap is the whole pitch here.
• Clean, single-purpose mandate: it tracks the Bloomberg U.S. Agency Bond Index, so you get agency debt rather than a blended bond mix.ishares.com
• Live since 2008 and paying monthly, with an overall profile in the top quartile of the bond funds we grade.

• BGRN 0.20% a year, half the median fee in its bond peer group. The green screen costs little versus plain bond exposure.
• The mandate is literal: bonds whose proceeds fund environmental projects, per index rules, not an ESG label bolted onto ordinary corporate debt.ishares.com
• About 300 bonds from issuers worldwide, all dollar-denominated, so there's no currency bet layered on top of the credit exposure.ishares.com
• Running since 2018 and distributing monthly, and it stands among the stronger implementations in its bond peer group.

Worth knowing

• AGZ Trades lightly next to the giant bond ETFs, so spreads can be wider and size can take patience to move.
• Around 100 bonds from a short list of government-sponsored issuers. That is a slice of the bond market, not the whole thing.
• Cheapest in its peer group, but not the top-ranked: BGRN (0.20%) and EMLC (0.30%) grade higher on our full scorecard.

• BGRN Trades thin next to core bond funds. Limit orders and mid-session execution matter more here.
• Prices move with interest rates like any bond fund. The green screen changes what it owns, not how bonds behave.
• "Green" means what the Bloomberg MSCI index rules say it means, so eligibility is the provider's call rather than a universal standard.ishares.com

Full AGZ profile⁠

Full BGRN profile⁠