AOA vs SPLS: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

iShares Core 80/20 Aggressive Allocation ETF

AOAANYSE Arca

PIMCO US Stocks PLUS Active Bond ETF

SPLSCCboe

Overlap

0.0%by weight

Expense ratio

AOA −0.23pt a year

AOA0.15%SPLS0.38%

Avg volume · 30D

AOA 9.4×the volume

AOA135KSPLS14.4K

AOA vs SPLS Performance

Jul 31, 2026 – Oct 30, 2026

−0.3%AOA+0.3%SPLS

Expense ratio: AOA 0.15%, better; SPLS 0.38%
Fund size: AOA $3.32B; SPLS $80M
1Y total return: AOA +10.1%; SPLS No data
Yield (12M): AOA 2.19%; SPLS No data
Holdings: AOA 34240; SPLS 15
Avg volume (30D): AOA 135K sh, better; SPLS 14.4K sh
NAV per share: AOA $96.21; SPLS $55.53
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for AOA, SPLS, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	AOA	SPLS
Cost30% weight	A93Higher	B69
Mission25% weight	A100Higher	F10
Risk15% weight	B55	A76Higher
Tradability15% weight	A96Higher	C48
Holdings10% weight	A81Higher	D38
Durability5% weight	A98Higher	C54

Rank among Multi-Asset Allocation funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. AOA and SPLS 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 SPLS 24th 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 23CPPIAstoria Real Assets ETFScore 49
Rank 24CSPLSPIMCO US Stocks PLUS Active Bond ETFScore 48
Rank 25CHECAHedgeye Capital Allocation ETFScore 41

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

AOAAiShares Core 80/20 Aggressive Allocation ETF

SPLSCPIMCO US Stocks PLUS Active Bond 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.

SPLS PIMCO's StocksPLUS idea, pioneered in 1986, finally in a US ETF: exposure to the 500 largest US companies out front, an actively managed PIMCO bond portfolio working underneath.

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.

SPLS The Fund seeks two sources of exposure: U.S.-listed equities mainly representing the 500 largest companies by market capitalization, and fixed-income instruments of varying maturities, primarily through actively managed PIMCO fixed-income ETFs.

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.

SPLS Two engines, one ticker: US large-cap equity exposure plus fixed income of varying maturities, run mainly through PIMCO's own actively managed bond ETFs.pimco.com
Charges 0.43% a year, roughly half the typical allocation fund's fee, for two sleeves that would otherwise mean buying a stock fund and a bond manager separately.
PIMCO pioneered the StocksPLUS approach in 1986 and lists SPLS as the ETF version of it, run by a team from its fixed income desk.pimco.com

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.

SPLS Bonds cut both ways here. The fixed income sleeve can subtract from S&P 500 returns as easily as add, and stocks and bonds can fall in the same week.
Launched January 2026 and started small and thinly traded, so spreads can run wider than in established allocation funds.
Capital-efficient rivals go cheaper: NTSX and GDE both charge 0.20%. You are paying up for the active bond sleeve.

Full AOA profile⁠

Full SPLS profile⁠

AOA vs SPLS Holdings

How AOA and SPLS differ

Overlap by weight

0.0%

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

Level by level

Holdings0 in both0.0%
Countryby domicile69.7%

Sector

No Sector split for SPLS.

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in AOA and SPLS, widest gap first
Country	More in AOAMore in SPLS	AOA	SPLS
United States	SPLS +30.2 points	69.4%	99.5%
Japan	AOA +6.0 points	6.0%	0.0%
United Kingdom	AOA +3.6 points	3.6%	0.0%
Canada	AOA +3.4 points	3.4%	0.0%
Taiwan	AOA +2.6 points	2.6%	0.0%
China	AOA +2.3 points	2.4%	0.1%
France	AOA +2.1 points	2.1%	0.0%
Germany	AOA +2.1 points	2.1%	0.0%
Other countries (7)	AOA +8.1 points	8.4%	0.3%

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

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

AOA17.3%
SPLS100.4%

Securities held

AOA34,149
SPLS12

Asset class

AOA: Multi-Asset
SPLS: Equity

Holdings

Only in AOA34,149
In both0
Only in SPLS12

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 SPLS

12 securities, 100% of SPLS by weight

Ishares Core S+p 500 Etf Ishares Core S+p 500 Etf97.40%
CCSOCXUS0 Mgcc Newedge 12/30 Vari 1 2.72% 12/31/20300.86%
Treasury Bill 12/26 0.00000 0.01% 12/22/20260.54%
Ldur Us Trs Equity Sofr 11/02/20260.44%
Treasury Bill 01/27 0.00000 0.01% 01/19/20270.32%
Pmbs Us Trs Equity Sofr 11/02/20260.26%
Ssc Government Mm Gvmxx 3.87% 12/31/20300.17%
Pyld Us Trs Equity Sofr 11/02/20260.14%
Mint Us Trs Equity Sofr 11/02/20260.12%
Fed Home Ln Discount Nt Discount Not 01/27 0.00000 4.09% 01/20/20270.11%
Treasury Bill 02/27 0.00000 0.01% 02/02/20270.11%
Fed Home Ln Discount Nt Discount Not 02/27 0.00000 4.07% 02/17/20270.11%

Weight gaps

AOA and SPLS share no securities.

All AOA holdings⁠All SPLS 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 SPLS Cost

Overpaying SPLS vs AOA

$4,569

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

AOA 0.15%
$3,137
SPLS 0.38%
$7,706

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

AOA 0.15%
SPLS 0.38%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	AOA	SPLS	Overpaying
10	$274	$688	$414
20	$1,071	$2,658	$1,587
30	$3,137	$7,706	$4,569

Expense ratio

0.15%AOA, cheaper
0.38%SPLS

AOA0.15%SPLS0.38%

0.06%1.36%

Middle half of Multi-Asset Allocation funds
Median 0.57%

AOA 3rd cheapest of 37 funds

SPLS 12th cheapest of 37 funds

AOA vs SPLS Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): AOA 2.19%; SPLS No data
Payout (12M): AOA $2.11; SPLS No data
Last payment: AOA $0.30; SPLS $0.07
Ex-dividend: AOA Oct 2, 2026; SPLS Oct 1, 2026
Paid on: AOA Oct 7, 2026; SPLS Oct 5, 2026
Frequency: AOA Quarterly; SPLS Quarterly

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

AOAQuarterly · 39 paymentsAll AOA payments⁠

SPLSQuarterly · 3 paymentsAll SPLS payments⁠

AOA vs SPLS 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%SPLS No data
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: AOA 1.37SPLS No data
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: AOA −23.6%SPLS No data
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: AOA 1.06SPLS 1.01; Market = 1

AOA and SPLS 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 SPLS

In short

Stated mandate

Why people hold it

Worth knowing

How AOA and SPLS differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Only in AOA

Only in SPLS

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 SPLS differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Only in AOA

Only in SPLS

Weight gaps