BKAG vs ZHOG

BKAGABNY Mellon Core Bond ETF

ZHOGCF/m Opportunistic 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.

ZHOG A go-anywhere active bond fund in a category ruled by index trackers. F/m's team roams U.S. fixed income for relative value, keeps duration short and average credit quality investment grade, and pays monthly. Fee: 0.43%, no waiver.

Stated mandate

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

ZHOG The Fund seeks attractive income by identifying undervalued and opportunistic sectors and securities in U.S. fixed-income markets, while generally limiting duration and maintaining average investment-grade credit quality.

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.

• ZHOG Active and unconstrained: the mandate hunts undervalued sectors and securities across U.S. fixed income while generally limiting duration and keeping average credit quality investment grade.fminvest.com
• A focused book of roughly 60 positions, so the holdings list is short enough to actually read and see where the managers are leaning.
• Income is paid out monthly.
• Since January 1, 2026 it measures itself against the Bloomberg Short-Term U.S. Aggregate Index, a short-duration yardstick, while staying actively managed rather than tracking it.fminvest.com

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.

• ZHOG At 0.43% (gross and net, no fee waiver) it sits above the category median, and well above index anchors like AGG, BND and SCHZ at 0.03%.
• A small fund that trades lightly, so spreads and order size matter more here than with the category's giants.
• Outcomes ride on the team's calls, and that team was reshuffled effective January 1, 2026. The fund itself only launched in 2023.fminvest.com

Full BKAG profile⁠

Full ZHOG profile⁠