Are BND and MKTN the same kind of fund?

BND is an index ETF and MKTN is an alternatives ETF, so they are built for different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and what each holds.

Which returned more over the last year, BND or MKTN?

In the year to Oct 1, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BND returned −1.9% and MKTN +12.5%.

Which is cheaper, BND or MKTN?

BND is cheaper, by 1.91 percentage points a year. On $10,000 held for a year that difference is about $191. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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BND vs MKTN: how they differ

Over the year BND returned −1.9% to MKTN's +12.5%, and BND charges 0.03% to MKTN's 1.94%. Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF and Federated Hermes MDT Market Neutral ETF.

−1.9%

BND total return, 1 year

+12.5%

MKTN total return, 1 year

0.03%

BND expense ratio

1.94%

MKTN expense ratio

On the same fields

BND

Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF

MKTN

Federated Hermes MDT Market Neutral ETF

Where it sits Core fund Alternatives ETF

Issuer Vanguard Federated Hermes

What it is Tracks an index of US aggregate bonds Market neutral

Total return, 1 year −1.9% +12.5%

S&P 500 over the same days +15.7% +15.7%

Gap to the S&P 500 −17.6 pts −3.2 pts

Expense ratio 0.03% 1.94%

Holdings 16296 not filed

Net assets $163.3bn $107m

BND and MKTN on the fields both publish, as of Oct 1, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

BND in plain words

BND tracks an index of US aggregate bonds. Over the year to Sep 30, 2026 it returned −1.9% with distributions reinvested, against +15.7% for the S&P 500 and +23.8% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. It sat 5.3% below its high of Aug 6, 2020 on Sep 30, 2026.

MKTN in plain words

MKTN is a market neutral fund. ETFIQ measures what every alternatives fund is sold on: whether it moves differently from the stock market. Over the year to Sep 30, 2026, its weekly returns had a correlation of −0.01 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of 0.00, so on average it did not move with the index at all. The S&P 500 fell in 25 of those 52 weeks, by 1.15% on average. In the same weeks MKTN rose 0.40% on average, a down-week capture of −35.0%. Over the same 52 weeks MKTN returned +13.9% and a Treasury bill fund +3.6%, so it finished 10.2 percentage points ahead of cash.

Questions people ask

Are BND and MKTN the same kind of fund?: BND is an index ETF and MKTN is an alternatives ETF, so they are built for different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and what each holds.
Which returned more over the last year, BND or MKTN?: In the year to Oct 1, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BND returned −1.9% and MKTN +12.5%.
Which is cheaper, BND or MKTN?: BND is cheaper, by 1.91 percentage points a year. On $10,000 held for a year that difference is about $191. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BND vs DGRW BND vs DIA BND vs DVY BND vs DYNF MKTN vs SPY MKTN vs TLT MKTN vs VOO GLD vs MKTN

BIL, the T-bill fund these are measured against →BND on its own →MKTN on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →Standards and sources →

Where these figures came from

BND filings on SEC EDGAR ↗BND prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗Vanguard page for BND ↗MKTN filings on SEC EDGAR ↗MKTN prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗Federated Hermes website ↗

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page

ETFIQ, BND against MKTN, data as of Oct 1, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/bnd-vs-mktn

Open data

Free to use with attribution. Every figure is calculated from a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology.