BKAG vs EDGF

BKAGABNY Mellon Core Bond ETF

EDGFD3EDGE Dynamic Fixed Income ETF

In short

BKAG A core bond index fund that charges nothing. BKAG tracks the same Bloomberg US Aggregate benchmark the giants track, at a 0.00% expense ratio, and has been doing it since 2020.

EDGF A bond fund built to move. 3EDGE's macro model shifts the mix across Treasuries, TIPS, investment grade and high yield, using other bond ETFs as building blocks. Flexibility priced at 0.79%, with no fee waiver in the mix.

Stated mandate

BKAG The fund seeks to track the Bloomberg US Aggregate Total Return Index.

EDGF The Fund seeks high current income. It dynamically invests across multiple fixed-income sectors through selected ETFs, with allocations adjusted using a quantitative and dual-momentum process.

Why people hold it

• BKAG A 0.00% expense ratio. The median fund in the core bond group charges 0.36%, and even the cheap giants (BND, SPAB, SCHZ) charge 0.03%.
• Tracks the Bloomberg US Aggregate Total Return Index tightly, one of the closest index-following records in its peer group.
• Broad by design: roughly 4,000 bonds in the portfolio, with distributions paid monthly rather than quarterly.
• A multi-billion-dollar fund from BNY Mellon, wrapped in a standard 1940 Act ETF structure with no exotic mechanics.

• EDGF Go-anywhere mandate: at least 80% in bonds, with credit quality and duration actively dialed up or down rather than pinned to an index.sec.gov
• Runs as a fund of funds, so the holdings are liquid, published bond ETFs picked on index, credit quality and duration, not an opaque bond sleeve.sec.gov
• The 0.79% fee is the real fee: net equals gross, with no waiver propping it up and no step-up risk when one lapses.
• Seeks current income and pays quarterly.

Worth knowing

• BKAG Rate risk is the trade-off. This is full-market bond exposure, and bond prices move opposite interest rates. Volatility is the weakest part of its profile.
• Moderately traded, not one of the volume monsters in the category. Spreads and limit orders matter more here than with the largest core bond names.
• At zero, the fee edge over 0.03% rivals is real but small in dollar terms, so tracking and trading costs do more of the work.

• EDGF Cost is the hurdle: 0.79% against AGG, BND, SPAB and SCHZ at 0.03%, and above the category median fee.
• Allocations shift with the model, so results can look nothing like a plain Agg tracker in either direction.sec.gov
• Young fund, launched in October 2024, so there is little history across different rate environments.

Full BKAG profile⁠

Full EDGF profile⁠