iShares Core International Aggregate Bond ETF

iShares Core International Aggregate Bond ETF (IAGG) tracks a Bloomberg index of investment-grade bonds issued in currencies other than the US dollar. Most are government bonds from dozens of countries, and the fund hedges currency moves back to the dollar. Its fee is 0.07% a year. That matches Vanguard's much larger BNDX and is well below the 0.24% average for similar funds.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, IAGG returned +0.5%, 3rd of 8 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +1.1% and its 10-year +2.1%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 5.9% and regained its old high 4.6 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-10.9%); its best was 2023 (+8.5%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 13.8% (Dec 31, 2020 to Oct 14, 2022), recovered by Dec 4, 2024.

As of Jul 31, 2026, the fund held 8,326 securities; the ten largest made up 6.03% of assets.

The bonds mature in 8.1 years on average (weighted by size), with an average coupon of 2.58%.

• Over the three months to Jul 31, 2026, investors withdrew a net $1.84B (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +0.89%, +0.51%, -0.89%.

IAGG tracks the Bloomberg Global Aggregate ex USD 10% Issuer Capped (Hedged) Index. The index holds investment-grade bonds, meaning bonds rated as likely to be repaid. Every bond pays a fixed rate and is issued in a currency other than the US dollar. Issuers include governments, government-related agencies and companies, in both developed and emerging markets. Each bond must mature in at least one year and meet a minimum size. Inflation-linked bonds, floating-rate bonds and several other types are left out. Bonds are weighted by market value, and no single issuer can exceed 10%. The index is updated monthly. As of October 31, 2025, it held 14,015 bonds from governments in 61 countries or regions.

BlackRock Fund Advisors uses "representative sampling": it buys a subset of bonds that resembles the index rather than every bond. As of July 31, 2026, the fund held 8,326 securities. China (18.47%), Japan (11.05%) and France (9.34%) were the largest countries, and foreign governments made up 81.4% of the portfolio.

The fund uses one-month currency forward contracts, reset monthly, to offset changes in foreign exchange rates. The hedge helps when foreign currencies fall against the dollar and hurts when they rise. The match is not always exact. Because it uses these derivatives, regulators treat the fund as a "commodity pool". That is a regulatory label, not a sign that it holds commodities.

• IAGG charges 0.07% a year, versus an average of 0.24% for the similar funds below (2nd of 8, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $7 in the first year and $90 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

IAGG adds high-quality bonds from outside the US with the currency risk hedged, which spreads a bond allocation across many more countries and interest-rate cycles.

IAGG could spread a bond allocation beyond US interest rates. The fund launched in 2015, so it has no record from 2008. In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 5.9% and recovered in about 4.6 months. Rising rates in 2022 hit harder. The fund lost 10.7% that year, its worst calendar year. Its deepest drop was 13.8%, from December 2020 to October 2022, and it took about 25.7 months to recover. Anyone who had to sell shares in late 2022 would have sold at a loss.

The trailing 12-month yield was 5.22% as of October 27, 2026, and the fund pays quarterly. Payouts from currency-hedged funds can swing from year to year. The fee is 0.07% a year. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by bond funds with the closest average maturity and issuer mix (N-PORT).