{"url":"https://etfiq.com/academy/allocation-and-risk/allocation-funds/","section":"academy","title":"Allocation funds: what a stock-share band tells you | ETFIQ","description":"Learn how ETFIQ places allocation ETFs in five bands by the share they hold in stocks, and why a band is not a risk rating, with real 10-year data.","as_of":"Oct 30, 2026","structured_data":[{"@type":"LearningResource","@id":"https://etfiq.com/academy/allocation-and-risk/allocation-funds/#lesson","name":"Allocation funds: what a stock-share band tells you","description":"Over the 10 years to Oct 30, 2026, AOR, at 61.1% stocks, fell 22.95% at its worst, while GYLD, at 59.3% stocks, fell 47.88%.","url":"https://etfiq.com/academy/allocation-and-risk/allocation-funds/","learningResourceType":"Lesson","teaches":"How a fund's stock share sets its band, and why two funds in one band can ride very differently","educationalLevel":"Intermediate","timeRequired":"PT7M","inLanguage":"en","isAccessibleForFree":true,"isPartOf":{"@type":"Course","@id":"https://etfiq.com/academy/allocation-and-risk/#course","name":"Allocation and Risk","url":"https://etfiq.com/academy/allocation-and-risk/"},"position":3,"dateModified":"2026-10-30","author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"ETFIQ Research","url":"https://etfiq.com"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"ETFIQ Research","url":"https://etfiq.com"}},{"@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://etfiq.com/academy/allocation-and-risk/allocation-funds/#check","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"A fund holds 72% in stocks, looked through. Which band is it in?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Moderately aggressive. 72% is over 70% and up to 85%."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"A fund named \"Balanced Growth\" holds 45% stocks. Which ETFIQ benchmark is it measured against?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Strategic 40, because 45% sits in the 30% to 50% band. The band comes from the measured stock share, and that band's benchmark is Strategic 40."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Two funds sit in the Moderate band. One swung 9% a year over ten years, the other 16%. What is the best reading?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"They hold a similar share in stocks, but very different stocks or bonds. The band fixes the stock share, not which stocks and bonds."}}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"ETFIQ","item":"https://etfiq.com/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Academy","item":"https://etfiq.com/academy/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Allocation and Risk","item":"https://etfiq.com/academy/allocation-and-risk/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Allocation funds","item":"https://etfiq.com/academy/allocation-and-risk/allocation-funds/"}]},{"@type":"WebPage","name":"Allocation funds: what a stock-share band tells you","description":"Learn how ETFIQ places allocation ETFs in five bands by the share they hold in stocks, and why a band is not a risk rating, with real 10-year data.","url":"https://etfiq.com/academy/allocation-and-risk/allocation-funds/","dateModified":"2026-10-30","isPartOf":{"@type":"WebSite","name":"ETFIQ","url":"https://etfiq.com"},"speakable":{"@type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":[".lede"]},"publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org"}}],"characters":6344,"truncated":false,"content":"ETFIQ / Academy / Allocation and Risk / Allocation funds \n \n Allocation funds: what a stock-share band tells you\n Data as of Oct 30, 2026. Rebuilt every trading night.\n Over the 10 years to Oct 30, 2026 , AOR, at 61.1% stocks, fell 22.95% at its worst, while GYLD, at 59.3% stocks, fell 47.88% .\n Allocation and Risk \u00b7 Lesson 3 of 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 \n Set an amount. See the dollars each fund lost at its worst ten-year fall, from 31% to 80% stocks. Amount (hypothetical) $10,000 On $10,000: AOK, 31.1% stocks $1,894, AOM, 41.3% $1,996, AOR, 61.1% $2,295, GYLD, 59.3% (same band as AOR) $4,788, AOA, 80.6% $2,838. Hypothetical amount. Stock shares from holdings dated Jul 31, 2026; falls over the 10 years to Oct 30, 2026. Step 1: the band comes from holdings, not the name. Four iShares funds, by their holdings filed for Jul 31, 2026 : Step 2: more stocks, bigger swings. Over the same ten years, Oct 31, 2016 to Oct 30, 2026 , from monthly returns: Step 3: same band, a different ride. GYLD, the Arrow Dow Jones Global Yield ETF, tracks an index of high-yielding assets worldwide. It held 59.3% stocks on Jul 31, 2026 . That is the Moderate band, beside AOR. Over the same ten years: \n The question\n An allocation fund holds stocks and bonds in one ETF. Its name says \"Conservative\" or \"60/40\". How do I know what it really holds, and how bumpy it will be?\n The idea\n ETFIQ places every allocation fund by one measured number: its stock share , the percent of its money in stocks. It reads this looked through : when a fund holds other funds, ETFIQ counts the stocks inside them. The stock share puts the fund in one of five bands :\n Band Stock share \n Conservative over 15% to 30% \n Moderately conservative over 30% to 50% \n Moderate over 50% to 70% \n Moderately aggressive over 70% to 85% \n Aggressive over 85% \n A fund with 15% or less in stocks is not an allocation fund. Each band has a matching ETFIQ benchmark ( Beginner lesson 3 ): Strategic 20, 40, 60, 80 or 95, named for its percent in stocks.\n The band tells you the mix. It does not tell you the risk. For that, read the fund's own realised volatility ( lesson 1 ): how much its returns actually swung.\n Worked example\n The 3 steps beside the drawing at the top work this through on ETFIQ data. Point at a step to light the part of the drawing it describes.\n Fund Name says Stock share Band \n AOK 30/70 Conservative 31.1% Moderately conservative \n AOM 40/60 Moderate 41.3% Moderately conservative \n AOR 60/40 Balanced 61.1% Moderate \n AOA 80/20 Aggressive 80.6% Moderately aggressive \n AOK's name says 30% and \"Conservative\". It held 31.1% , just over the 30% line, so ETFIQ places it one band up and measures it against Strategic 40.\n Fund Stock share Volatility Worst fall \n AOK 31.1% 6.90% \u221218.94% \n AOM 41.3% 7.76% \u221219.96% \n AOR 61.1% 9.99% \u221222.95% \n AOA 80.6% 12.28% \u221228.38% \n From AOK to AOA, the stock share rose by 49.5 points and volatility rose by about three quarters: 12.28 \u00f7 6.90 = 1.78 . For these plain index mixes, the band is a good guide.\n Volatility: GYLD 17.00% , AOR 9.99% . 1.7 times the swing.\n Worst fall: GYLD \u221247.88% , from Jan 24, 2018 to Mar 23, 2020 . AOR's was \u221222.95% .\n Same stock share, same band, more than twice the worst fall. Which stocks and bonds a fund holds shapes the ride as much as how much it holds in each. That is why ETFIQ prints volatility beside the band on every row.\n The common mistake\n \"Moderate means moderate risk.\" The band is a rule about the mix. AOR and GYLD share a band and swung very differently. Read the band for the mix, then volatility and worst fall for the ride.\n A second mistake: trusting the name. \"Conservative\" is the issuer's word; the band is a dated measurement.\n Check your understanding\n Pick an answer to see why. Two of three right passes the lesson.\n 1. A fund holds 72% in stocks, looked through. Which band is it in? A Moderate B Moderately aggressive C Aggressive D It depends on the name Answer: B. Moderately aggressive. 72% is over 70% and up to 85%. Not A: Moderate stops at 70%. 2. A fund named \"Balanced Growth\" holds 45% stocks. Which ETFIQ benchmark is it measured against? A Strategic 60, because \"balanced\" suggests 60/40 B The S&P 500 C Strategic 80, because of \"Growth\" D Strategic 40, because 45% sits in the 30% to 50% band Answer: D. Strategic 40, because 45% sits in the 30% to 50% band. The band comes from the measured stock share, and that band's benchmark is Strategic 40. Not A: the name is not a measurement. 3. Two funds sit in the Moderate band. One swung 9% a year over ten years, the other 16%. What is the best reading? A They hold a similar share in stocks, but very different stocks or bonds B One of the numbers must be wrong C The 16% fund has more stocks D They will have the same worst fall Answer: A. They hold a similar share in stocks, but very different stocks or bonds. The band fixes the stock share, not which stocks and bonds. Not C: both are between 50% and 70% stocks; the difference is in what they hold. \n Takeaways\n Find a fund's band from its measured stock share, never from its name. \n Read volatility and worst fall beside the band; the band is the mix, not the risk. \n Judge an allocation fund against the benchmark for its band. \n Do it on ETFIQ\n Find any allocation fund's band and its swings Your fund \n Where to next\n Next lesson: Overlap and hidden concentration across your funds Previous lesson: Risk-adjusted return: Sharpe, Sortino and Calmar Allocation and Risk: all lessons The explainer behind this lesson ETFIQ Academy How ETFIQ computes these numbers \n Cite this page. ETFIQ, Allocation funds: what a stock-share band tells you, data as of Oct 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/academy/allocation-and-risk/allocation-funds/ Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms. The underlying files are at Open data .\n Other forms Plain ETFIQ, Allocation funds: what a stock-share band tells you, data as of Oct 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/academy/allocation-and-risk/allocation-funds/ APA ETFIQ. (Oct 30, 2026). Allocation funds: what a stock-share band tells you. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/academy/allocation-and-risk/allocation-funds/ Markdown [Allocation funds: what a stock-share band tells you (ETFIQ, Oct 30, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/academy/allocation-and-risk/allocation-funds/)","source":"ETFIQ, independent ETF data. Recomputed nightly from public filings and prices.","publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org","name":"ETFIQ","url":"https://etfiq.com"},"license":"https://etfiq.com/license/","license_text":"Data ETFIQ computes is free to use with attribution: ETFIQ (etfiq.com). Issuer data stays under its owner's terms.","citation":"ETFIQ, Allocation funds: what a stock-share band tells you, data as of Oct 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/academy/allocation-and-risk/allocation-funds/"}