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Family · 5 members · 20 to 95% stocks

Income benchmarks

5 ETFIQ benchmarks for income-focused models. The rule, as the method states it, with x the stock share: “x% stock sleeve, (100 - x)% bond sleeve.” Launched on Oct 3, 2026.

Share on X
The five members on the stock-share scaleDots: each member’s stock share, measured through its funds’ holdings as of May 31 to Jul 31, 2026. Labels: each rule’s stock share. A return marked * is hypothetical.
Income 2019.98% stocks · band 15 to 30+2.70% 1Y*Income 4039.95% stocks · band 30 to 50+5.75% 1Y*Income 6059.92% stocks · band 50 to 70+8.87% 1Y*Income 8079.89% stocks · band 70 to 85+12.06% 1Y*Income 9594.87% stocks · band over 85+14.50% 1Y*

Over 10 years to Sep 30, 2026, the 5 income benchmarks returned +4.30% to +9.62% a year, hypothetical.

One sentence, recomputed every trading night. A benchmark is a rule, not a recommendation.

Family grid

Income family · weights in force since Jun 24, 2013

Weights by sleeve and by fund, then total returns: YTD to Oct 7, 2026, the trailing windows to Sep 30, 2026, annualised over 3 years and more. A row marked * is hypothetical as a whole.

Sleeve · fundIncome 20Income 40Income 60Income 80Income 95
Dividend stocks10%20%30%40%47.5%
VYM10%20%30%40%47.5%
Option income10%20%30%40%47.5%
XYLD10%20%30%40%47.5%
US bonds40%30%20%10%2.5%
BND20%15%10%5%1.25%
AGG20%15%10%5%1.25%
High yield40%30%20%10%2.5%
SPHY40%30%20%10%2.5%
Stocks · bonds20 · 8040 · 6060 · 4080 · 2095 · 5
YTD* hypothetical+1.39%+3.90%+6.46%+9.06%+11.04%
1 year* hypothetical+2.70%+5.75%+8.87%+12.06%+14.50%
3 years, annualised* hypothetical+8.00%+9.96%+11.94%+13.93%+15.44%
5 years, annualised* hypothetical+3.24%+4.94%+6.63%+8.34%+9.61%
10 years, annualised* hypothetical+4.30%+5.75%+7.17%+8.58%+9.62%
The reference Strategic 20Strategic 40Strategic 60Strategic 80Strategic 95
1 year, percentage points against the reference* hypothetical1.03 ahead0.48 ahead0.06 behind0.59 behind0.99 behind

Construction rule. The family’s rule, as the method states it, with x the stock share: “x% stock sleeve, (100 - x)% bond sleeve.” Rebalanced on the last trading day of each month. *Returns before Oct 5, 2026 are hypothetical. The reference: ETFIQ Strategic at each member’s stock share; at 100%, All US stocks or All stocks, by the measured US share of the member’s stocks. The difference is the member’s printed 1-year total return less the reference’s.

The five members through each stress window

Rule version 1 · 11 windows since Jan 4, 2010

Every fall of VT of 10% or more and of AGG of 5% or more since Jan 4, 2010, found by a written rule on every run and chosen by no one. For each benchmark, its return from the close of the window’s first day to the close of its last, what $10,000 became, and its largest drawdown inside the window. A window outside a benchmark’s history, or only partly inside it, shows no figure for it: a window is never cut to fit.

Jan 11 to Feb 8, 2010
VT fell 10.76% from its peak, back at it on Apr 1, 2010
$10,000history starts Jun 24, 2013; the window ends before itJan 11 to Feb 8, 2010
MemberReturnOn $10,000Max DD
Income 20not published
Income 40not published
Income 60not published
Income 80not published
Income 95not published
Apr 14 to Jun 7, 2010
VT fell 16.44% from its peak, back at it on Oct 13, 2010
$10,000history starts Jun 24, 2013; the window ends before itApr 14 to Jun 7, 2010
MemberReturnOn $10,000Max DD
Income 20not published
Income 40not published
Income 60not published
Income 80not published
Income 95not published
Apr 29 to Oct 3, 2011
VT fell 23.83% from its peak, back at it on Jan 2, 2013
$10,000history starts Jun 24, 2013; the window ends before itApr 29 to Oct 3, 2011
MemberReturnOn $10,000Max DD
Income 20not published
Income 40not published
Income 60not published
Income 80not published
Income 95not published
May 2 to Sep 5, 2013
AGG fell 5.14% from its peak, back at it on May 14, 2014
$10,000history starts Jun 24, 2013; the window starts before itMay 2 to Sep 5, 2013
MemberReturnOn $10,000Max DD
Income 20not published
Income 40not published
Income 60not published
Income 80not published
Income 95not published
May 21, 2015 to Feb 11, 2016
VT fell 19.79% from its peak, back at it on Dec 13, 2016
$10,000May 21, 2015 to Feb 11, 2016
MemberReturnOn $10,000Max DD
Income 20−3.60%$9,640−4.37%
Income 40−5.30%$9,470−5.68%
Income 60−7.03%$9,297−7.58%
Income 80−8.77%$9,123−9.86%
Income 95−10.09%$8,991−11.57%
Jan 26 to Dec 24, 2018
VT fell 19.97% from its peak, back at it on Oct 28, 2019
$10,000Jan 26 to Dec 24, 2018
MemberReturnOn $10,000Max DD
Income 20−4.32%$9,568−4.32%
Income 40−6.94%$9,306−7.40%
Income 60−9.58%$9,042−10.62%
Income 80−12.23%$8,777−13.81%
Income 95−14.23%$8,577−16.18%
Feb 12 to Mar 23, 2020
VT fell 34.23% from its peak, back at it on Aug 24, 2020
$10,000Feb 12 to Mar 23, 2020
MemberReturnOn $10,000Max DD
Income 20−16.52%$8,348−16.90%
Income 40−21.19%$7,881−21.21%
Income 60−25.71%$7,429−25.71%
Income 80−30.06%$6,994−30.06%
Income 95−33.23%$6,677−33.23%
Mar 6 to Mar 18, 2020
AGG fell 9.58% from its peak, back at it on May 21, 2020
$10,000Mar 6 to Mar 18, 2020
MemberReturnOn $10,000Max DD
Income 20−13.14%$8,686−13.14%
Income 40−14.74%$8,526−14.74%
Income 60−16.34%$8,366−16.34%
Income 80−17.93%$8,207−17.93%
Income 95−19.13%$8,087−19.55%
Aug 4, 2020 to Oct 20, 2022
AGG fell 18.44% from its peak, not yet back at it
$10,000Aug 4, 2020 to Oct 20, 2022
MemberReturnOn $10,000Max DD
Income 20−5.52%$9,448−15.02%
Income 40+0.48%$10,048−14.98%
Income 60+6.77%$10,677−15.41%
Income 80+13.34%$11,334−15.97%
Income 95+18.46%$11,846−16.70%
Nov 8, 2021 to Oct 12, 2022
VT fell 26.39% from its peak, back at it on Jan 29, 2024
$10,000Nov 8, 2021 to Oct 12, 2022
MemberReturnOn $10,000Max DD
Income 20−14.34%$8,566−15.02%
Income 40−13.97%$8,603−14.98%
Income 60−13.63%$8,637−15.41%
Income 80−13.30%$8,670−15.97%
Income 95−13.07%$8,693−16.70%
Feb 18 to Apr 8, 2025
VT fell 16.51% from its peak, back at it on May 16, 2025
$10,000Feb 18 to Apr 8, 2025
MemberReturnOn $10,000Max DD
Income 20−4.44%$9,556−5.15%
Income 40−7.10%$9,290−7.36%
Income 60−9.70%$9,030−9.86%
Income 80−12.27%$8,773−12.45%
Income 95−14.16%$8,584−14.36%

Questions people ask about the income benchmarks

What is an ETFIQ benchmark?
A rule over broad, low-cost ETFs, written down before its returns were looked at, that measures model portfolios the way the S&P 500 measures large US stocks. Its weights, rule and returns are published.
Can I invest in an ETFIQ benchmark?
No. A benchmark is a published yardstick, not a fund, and ETFIQ publishes no trades for any of them. It takes no payment from the issuer of any fund a benchmark holds.
Why are some returns hypothetical?
Each family’s rule is frozen on a stated date. Returns before it apply today’s rule and funds to earlier prices, which is look-ahead; returns from it are tracked. The price source does not carry funds that closed before 2016, so nothing here is free of survivorship bias.
Other families
Strategic8 membersStrategic and target-risk allocation models→Tax-aware6 membersTax-aware and tax-sensitive allocation models→Factor6 membersFactor and smart-beta models→Tactical5 membersTactical and dynamic models→Thematic6 membersThematic, megatrend and innovation models→
Where to next
How the benchmarks are built→Every benchmark, all 36→Core funds→Look a portfolio through→Every method→Every model, side by side→
Cite this page

ETFIQ, Income benchmarks: all 5, data as of Oct 7, 2026. https://etfiq.com/benchmarks/income/

Open data →

Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms. The underlying files are at Open data. Figures before Oct 5, 2026 are hypothetical.

Sources and credit
Prices and distributions, every fund the benchmarks holdData sourced by Tiingo · end of day · Oct 7, 2026The risk-free rate, for the Sharpe ratioU.S. Treasury daily bill rates

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices. Data sourced by Tiingo.