AOA vs ELM: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

iShares Core 80/20 Aggressive Allocation ETF

AOAANYSE Arca

Elm Market Navigator ETF

ELMBNYSE Arca

Overlap

0.0%by weight

Expense ratio

AOA −0.09pt a year

AOA0.15%ELM0.24%

Avg volume · 30D

AOA 5.5×the volume

AOA135KELM24.3K

AOA vs ELM Performance

Oct 31, 2025 – Oct 30, 2026

+10.1%AOA+8.0%ELM

Expense ratio: AOA 0.15%, better; ELM 0.24%
Fund size: AOA $3.32B; ELM $593M
1Y total return: AOA +10.1%, better; ELM +8.0%
Yield (12M): AOA 2.19%; ELM No data
Holdings: AOA 34240; ELM 21
Avg volume (30D): AOA 135K sh, better; ELM 24.3K sh
NAV per share: AOA $96.21; ELM $29.04
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for AOA, ELM, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	AOA	ELM
Cost30% weight	A93Higher	A89
Mission25% weight	A100Higher	D39
Risk15% weight	B55Higher	C52
Tradability15% weight	A96Higher	C46
Holdings10% weight	A81Higher	D39
Durability5% weight	A98Higher	B69

Rank among Multi-Asset Allocation funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. AOA and ELM are both graded against the same 37 Multi-Asset Allocation funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Multi-Asset Allocation⁠

Category · 37 funds

See all 37 ›

AOA ranks 2nd and ELM 14th of 37 funds in the Multi-Asset Allocation Category.

Rank 1AUCBGState Street SPDR UC Investments 90/10 Endowment Strategy Index ETFScore 95
Rank 2AAOAiShares Core 80/20 Aggressive Allocation ETFScore 88
Rank 3AIRTRiShares LifePath Retirement ETFScore 86
Rank 12BRMHYGlobal X Adaptive Risk Managed Yield ETFScore 60
Rank 14BELMElm Market Navigator ETFScore 58
Rank 14BRAASMI 3Fourteen REAL Asset Allocation ETFScore 58

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

AOAAiShares Core 80/20 Aggressive Allocation ETF

ELMBElm Market Navigator ETF

In short

AOA A whole portfolio in one ticker. Since 2008, AOA has held a fixed 80/20 mix of global stock and bond index funds, with its index rebalancing the split back to target twice a year. No spreadsheet required.

ELM Most allocation funds pick a stock/bond mix and stick to it. ELM runs a rules-based dial instead, shifting across global stocks, bonds, real estate and cash as conditions change, for a flat 0.24% a year with no temporary waiver holding that number down.

Stated mandate

AOA The Fund seeks to follow an index of equity and fixed-income ETFs designed for an aggressive target-risk allocation. It offers a diversified portfolio emphasizing growth and relatively higher equity exposure.

ELM The Fund is an actively managed fund of funds using a rules-based asset-allocation process to dynamically invest across equity, fixed-income, real-estate, and cash-related markets.

Why people hold it

AOA One trade buys a handful of underlying iShares index funds spanning global stocks and bonds, with the 80/20 split set by index rule rather than a manager's judgment call.ishares.com spglobal.com
Costs 0.15% net of a waiver through November 30, 2026 (0.19% gross), below the median fee in its allocation category.
Live since November 2008 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund, it has run the same target-risk mandate through the financial crisis and everything after.ishares.com
Among the strongest implementations in a crowded field of allocation funds, and it pays out quarterly.

ELM The mix moves: a rules-based process shifts across equity, fixed income, real estate and cash markets, so you are not locked into one static stock/bond split.
0.24% flat, with no waiver holding it there, and below the median of the 37 allocation funds compared. Less than peers INCE (0.29%) and TRTY (0.39%).
Elm ran this strategy in a private fund for roughly 13 years before converting it into an ETF in February 2025. The wrapper is new, the playbook is not.businesswire.com
One fund of funds covers US, developed international and emerging-market stocks plus bonds, so the global spread arrives in a single line on your statement.

Worth knowing

AOA Eighty percent equity means it rides global stock swings closely. The 20% bond sleeve softens drawdowns rather than stopping them.spglobal.com
That 0.15% is net of a contractual waiver through November 30, 2026. The gross 0.19% is the figure that applies if the waiver is not renewed.
Cheaper one-ticket rivals now exist: UCBG at 0.06% and IRTR at 0.08%. IRTR also glides its risk down over time, while AOA's 80/20 stays put.

ELM Volume is light next to the giant allocation ETFs, so limit orders and a glance at the spread matter more here.
Cheap for an active allocator, but static rivals undercut it: UCBG runs 0.06% and AOA 0.15% net of a waiver through November 30, 2026.
By design the allocation can swing well away from a static baseline, so its path can look nothing like a plain balanced fund; the ETF's own record starts in February 2025.elmwealth.com

Full AOA profile⁠

Full ELM profile⁠

AOA vs ELM Holdings

How AOA and ELM differ

Overlap by weight

0.0%

Shared holdings make up 0.0% of AOA and 0.0% of ELM.

Level by level

Holdings0 in both0.0%
Countryby domicile84.6%
Sector11 Sectors94.4%

Sector

Sector weights in AOA and ELM, widest gap first
Sector	More in AOAMore in ELM	AOA	ELM
Technology	AOA +4.2 points	31.6%	27.4%
Financials	ELM +1.8 points	16.1%	17.9%
Real Estate	ELM +1.8 points	2.1%	4.0%
Communication	AOA +1.3 points	7.5%	6.2%
Materials	ELM +0.9 points	3.9%	4.8%
Industrials	ELM +0.4 points	11.0%	11.4%
Energy	ELM +0.2 points	4.1%	4.3%
Utilities	ELM +0.2 points	2.3%	2.5%
Health Care	AOA +0.1 points	8.5%	8.4%
Consumer Staples	ELM +0.1 points	4.5%	4.6%
Consumer Discretionary	Same weight	8.3%	8.4%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in AOA and ELM, widest gap first
Country	More in AOAMore in ELM	AOA	ELM
United States	ELM +8.9 points	69.4%	78.3%
Japan	AOA +2.7 points	6.0%	3.3%
United Kingdom	AOA +2.6 points	3.6%	1.0%
Canada	AOA +2.3 points	3.4%	1.1%
France	AOA +1.6 points	2.1%	0.5%
Germany	AOA +1.6 points	2.1%	0.5%
Switzerland	AOA +1.5 points	2.2%	0.7%
South Korea	AOA +1.3 points	1.9%	0.6%
Other countries (31)	ELM +4.6 points	9.4%	14.0%

Outside the US: AOA 73% developed, 27% emerging. ELM 49% developed, 51% emerging.

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

AOA17.3%
ELM93.2%

Securities held

AOA34,149
ELM20

Asset class

AOA: Multi-Asset
ELM: Multi-Asset

Holdings

Only in AOA34,149
In both0
Only in ELM20

Only in AOA

34,149 securities, 99.6% of AOA by weight

Apple3.50%
NVIDIA3.44%
Microsoft2.69%
Amazon.com Inc1.64%
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing1.17%
Alphabet Class A1.14%
Broadcom Inc1.08%
Meta Platforms Class A0.94%
Alphabet Class C0.92%
Eli Lilly0.79%
Tesla Inc0.78%
Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B0.70%
Micron Technology0.69%
JPMorgan Chase & Co0.62%
Advanced Micro Devices0.57%
Exxonmobil Holdings Corp0.54%
Samsung Electronics Ltd0.52%
Visa Class A0.49%
Asml Holding0.48%
Johnson & Johnson0.46%
Sk Hynix0.38%
Walmart0.38%
AbbVie0.36%
Mastercard Class A0.36%
Chevron0.32%
Costco Wholesale Corp0.31%
Palantir Technologies Class A0.29%
Cisco Systems Inc0.29%
Roche Ps Par AG0.27%
Procter & Gamble0.26%
Merck & Co Inc0.26%
UnitedHealth Group0.25%
Coca-Cola0.25%
Shell0.24%
Novartis AG0.23%
Hsbc Holdings PLC0.23%
Home Depot0.23%
Intel Corporation0.23%
Philip Morris International0.23%
Bank of America0.23%
Astrazeneca PLC0.22%
Royal Bank of Canada0.22%
Ge Aerospace0.22%
Applied Material Inc0.22%
Lam Research0.21%
Palo Alto Networks0.21%
Nestle SA0.21%
Caterpillar Inc0.20%
Tencent Holdings0.20%
Texas Instrument0.19%

Only in ELM

20 securities, 99.9% of ELM by weight

Vanguard 0-3 Month Treasury Bill ETF36.28%
Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF21.03%
Schwab US TIPS ETF10.61%
Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF9.76%
Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF5.59%
iShares Core MSCI Pacific ETF3.39%
iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF2.15%
Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF1.63%
Vanguard FTSE Pacific ETF1.52%
iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF1.20%
JPMorgan BetaBuilders Europe ETF1.17%
iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF1.15%
JPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF1.13%
Vanguard Morningstar Value ETF1.01%
Vanguard Morningstar Small-Cap ETF0.74%
Schwab US Broad Market ETF0.40%
First American Government Obligations Fund 12/01/20310.39%
Schwab U.S. REIT ETF0.36%
Ishares Core Us Value Etf0.34%
iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF0.04%

Weight gaps

AOA and ELM share no securities.

All AOA holdings⁠All ELM holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

AOA vs ELM Cost

Overpaying ELM vs AOA

$1,822

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

AOA 0.15%
$3,137
ELM 0.24%
$4,959

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

AOA 0.15%
ELM 0.24%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	AOA	ELM	Overpaying
10	$274	$437	$163
20	$1,071	$1,699	$628
30	$3,137	$4,959	$1,822

Expense ratio

0.15%AOA, cheaper
0.24%ELM

AOA0.15%ELM0.24%

0.06%1.36%

Middle half of Multi-Asset Allocation funds
Median 0.57%

AOA 3rd cheapest of 37 funds

ELM 5th cheapest of 37 funds

AOA vs ELM Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): AOA 2.19%; ELM No data
Payout (12M): AOA $2.11; ELM No data
Last payment: AOA $0.30; ELM $0.13
Ex-dividend: AOA Oct 2, 2026; ELM Dec 31, 2025
Paid on: AOA Oct 7, 2026; ELM Jan 2, 2026
Frequency: AOA Quarterly; ELM Irregular

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

AOAQuarterly · 39 paymentsAll AOA payments⁠

ELMIrregular · 2 paymentsAll ELM payments⁠

AOA vs ELM Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

This chart needs five years of history for both funds.

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: AOA 9.6%ELM 7.7%since Mar 2025
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: AOA 1.37ELM 0.96since Mar 2025
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: AOA −23.6%ELM −9.0%since Feb 2025
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: AOA 1.06ELM 0.50; Market = 1

AOA and ELM in the news

All news⁠

Category Review
The fund built to limit losses had the category's worst return
Sep 25, 2026AOA

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AOA vs ELM

In short

Stated mandate

Why people hold it

Worth knowing

How AOA and ELM differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Only in AOA

Only in ELM

Weight gaps

Cost over time

Year by year

Distribution history

Fall from peak · 5 years

Risk facts

The fund built to limit losses had the category's worst return

How AOA and ELM differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Only in AOA

Only in ELM

Weight gaps