SCHZ vs ZHOG

SCHZASchwab U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF

ZHOGCF/m Opportunistic Income ETF

In short

SCHZ Schwab's core bond holding: the broad U.S. investment-grade bond market, over 10,000 issues deep, for 0.03% a year. That is the floor of a category whose median fee is more than ten times higher. Running since 2011, pays monthly.

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

SCHZ The fund seeks to track the total return of an index representing the broad U.S. investment-grade bond market.

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

• SCHZ 0.03% a year sits at the category floor, against a cohort median of 0.36%. Only a short list of aggregate-bond funds matches it, including AGG, BND and SPAB.
• Tracks the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index tightly, one of the cleanest index implementations among the 187 funds in its peer group.schwabassetmanagement.com
• One ticker, thousands of investment-grade U.S. bonds, income paid monthly. The plumbing of a bond portfolio without buying a single bond yourself.
• Live since 2011 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, so trading costs on ordinary retail-sized orders tend to be minor.

• 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

• SCHZ This is duration exposure, not a cash substitute. Interest-rate moves, not credit selection, drive most of the ride, and that is the weakest part of its risk profile.
• Investment grade and U.S. only: no high-yield, no foreign bonds. Funds like BNDX cover the international side of the cohort.
• The aggregate-bond aisle is commoditized. Against AGG, BND and SPAB at the same 0.03%, the differences come down to index variant and where you already custody, not fee.

• 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 SCHZ profile⁠

Full ZHOG profile⁠