AOA vs GAL: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

iShares Core 80/20 Aggressive Allocation ETF

AOAANYSE Arca

State Street Global Allocation ETF

GALBNYSE Arca

Overlap

0.0%by weight

Expense ratio

AOA −0.20pt a year

AOA0.15%GAL0.35%

Avg volume · 30D

AOA 9.2×the volume

AOA135KGAL14.7K

10Y return · a year

AOA +2.1pt

AOA+10.3%GAL+8.2%

AOA vs GAL Performance

Nov 2, 2021 – Nov 2, 2026

+47.6%AOA+34.4%GAL

Expense ratio: AOA 0.15%, better; GAL 0.35%
Fund size: AOA $3.32B; GAL $319M
1Y total return: AOA +10.0%, better; GAL +8.3%
Yield (12M): AOA 2.19%; GAL 3.25%, better
Holdings: AOA 34240; GAL 19
Avg volume (30D): AOA 135K sh, better; GAL 14.7K sh
NAV per share: AOA $96.21; GAL $52.69
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for AOA, GAL, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	AOA	GAL
Cost30% weight	A93Higher	A72
Mission25% weight	A100Higher	B56
Risk15% weight	B55	B66Higher
Tradability15% weight	A96Higher	B65
Holdings10% weight	A82Higher	C48
Durability5% weight	A98Higher	A83

Rank among Multi-Asset Allocation funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. AOA and GAL 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 GAL 8th 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 7BDDVDefined Duration 5 ETFScore 67
Rank 8BGALState Street Global Allocation ETFScore 64
Rank 9BTBFCBrinsmere Fund Conservative ETFScore 62

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

AOAAiShares Core 80/20 Aggressive Allocation ETF

GALBState Street Global Allocation 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.

GAL A whole portfolio in one ticker. State Street's allocation team stacks ETFs across asset classes, anchors around a 60% equity mix, and keeps at least 30% of the money in securities tied outside the US.

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.

GAL The fund seeks capital appreciation by investing in exchange traded funds across a diversified mix of asset classes. It generally invests at least 30% in securities tied to countries outside the U.S. and typically allocates about 60% to equities, subject to tactical decisions.

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.

GAL Charges 0.35% a year, well under half the 0.78% typical of allocation funds. Cheap for a hands-on, actively steered multi-asset portfolio.
Built-in global tilt: at least 30% goes to securities tied to countries outside the US, a rule many US-centric balanced funds leave to the manager's mood.ssga.com
Trading since 2012, so the strategy has run through several full market cycles rather than one lucky stretch.
One buy gets a diversified mix, and the roughly 60/40 equity baseline plus tactical shifts happen inside the fund instead of on your rebalancing to-do list.

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.

GAL Thinly traded next to the category's giants, so spreads can widen and limit orders carry more weight than they would in a heavily traded fund.
It holds ETFs, not individual stocks and bonds. Your real exposure depends on the underlying funds the managers pick, which adds a layer between you and the securities.ssga.com
Cheaper allocation options exist: AOA runs 0.19% and IRTR 0.08%, though both follow fixed glide paths rather than the tactical shifts GAL is built for.

Full AOA profile⁠

Full GAL profile⁠

AOA vs GAL Holdings

How AOA and GAL differ

Overlap by weight

0.0%

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

Level by level

Holdings0 in both0.0%
Countryby domicile91.2%
Sector11 Sectors96.6%

Sector

Sector weights in AOA and GAL, widest gap first
Sector	More in AOAMore in GAL	AOA	GAL
Technology	AOA +2.3 points	31.6%	29.3%
Industrials	GAL +1.1 points	11.0%	12.1%
Materials	GAL +1.0 points	3.9%	4.8%
Communication	AOA +0.7 points	7.5%	6.8%
Real Estate	GAL +0.6 points	2.1%	2.8%
Consumer Discretionary	GAL +0.6 points	8.3%	8.9%
Health Care	AOA +0.3 points	8.5%	8.2%
Financials	GAL +0.1 points	16.1%	16.2%
Utilities	AOA +0.1 points	2.3%	2.2%
Consumer Staples	Same weight	4.5%	4.5%
Energy	Same weight	4.1%	4.1%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in AOA and GAL, widest gap first
Country	More in AOAMore in GAL	AOA	GAL
United Kingdom	AOA +2.7 points	3.6%	0.9%
United States	AOA +1.7 points	69.4%	67.7%
Japan	GAL +1.7 points	6.0%	7.7%
Germany	AOA +1.5 points	2.1%	0.6%
South Korea	AOA +1.3 points	1.9%	0.6%
Taiwan	GAL +1.2 points	2.6%	3.8%
Netherlands	AOA +0.7 points	1.3%	0.6%
Hong Kong	GAL +0.7 points	0.0%	0.7%
Other countries (31)	GAL +4.4 points	13.1%	17.5%

Outside the US: AOA 73% developed, 27% emerging. GAL 69% developed, 31% emerging.

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

AOA17.3%
GAL88.7%

Securities held

AOA34,149
GAL17

Asset class

AOA: Multi-Asset
GAL: Multi-Asset

Holdings

Only in AOA34,149
In both0
Only in GAL17

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 GAL

17 securities, 99.6% of GAL by weight

State Street Spdr S+p 500 Etf24.21%
State Street Spdr Portfolio AG17.81%
State Street Spdr Portfolio De16.00%
State Street Spdr Portfolio Em8.51%
State Street Spdr Bloomberg En5.01%
State Street Spdr Bloomberg 14.05%
State Street Spdr Portfolio Lo4.04%
State Street Spdr Portfolio Lo3.07%
State Street Spdr Bloomberg Em3.04%
State Street Spdr Bloomberg In2.99%
State Street Spdr S+p Internat2.94%
State Street Blackstone Senior2.49%
State Street Spdr S+p Midcap 42.03%
Vanguard Ftse Pacific Etf1.91%
State Street Spdr Bloomberg Em1.49%
State Street Spdr Portfolio S+<0.01%
State Street Spdr Bloomberg Hi<0.01%

Weight gaps

AOA and GAL share no securities.

All AOA holdings⁠All 17 GAL 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 GAL Cost

Overpaying GAL vs AOA

$3,989

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

AOA 0.15%
$3,137
GAL 0.35%
$7,126

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

AOA 0.15%
GAL 0.35%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	AOA	GAL	Overpaying
10	$274	$634	$360
20	$1,071	$2,454	$1,383
30	$3,137	$7,126	$3,989

Expense ratio

0.15%AOA, cheaper
0.35%GAL

AOA0.15%GAL0.35%

0.06%1.36%

Middle half of Multi-Asset Allocation funds
Median 0.57%

AOA 3rd cheapest of 37 funds

GAL 11th cheapest of 37 funds

AOA vs GAL Dividends

Last 12 months to Nov 2, 2026

Yield (12M): AOA 2.19%; GAL 3.25%, better
Payout (12M): AOA $2.11; GAL $1.70
Last payment: AOA $0.30; GAL $0.28
Ex-dividend: AOA Oct 2, 2026; GAL Sep 25, 2026
Paid on: AOA Oct 7, 2026; GAL Sep 29, 2026
Frequency: AOA Quarterly; GAL Quarterly

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

AOAQuarterly · 39 paymentsAll AOA payments⁠

GALQuarterly · 39 paymentsAll GAL payments⁠

AOA vs GAL Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: AOA 9.6%GAL 7.9%, better
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: AOA 1.37, betterGAL 1.26
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: AOA −23.6%GAL −21.1%, better
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: AOA 1.06GAL 0.89; Market = 1

AOA and GAL 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 GAL

In short

Stated mandate

Why people hold it

Worth knowing

How AOA and GAL differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Only in AOA

Only in GAL

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 GAL differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Only in AOA

Only in GAL

Weight gaps