Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
DFSD vs FSIG: Differences, Returns & Fees
On Jul 31, 2026 DFSD's duration was 2.9 years and FSIG's 2.9; DFSD charges 0.16% to FSIG's 0.44%.
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Net assets: $7.1bn on Jul 31, 2026 for Dimensional Short-Duration Fixed Income ETF, and $1.5bn on Oct 27, 2026 for First Trust Limited Duration Investment Grade Corporate ETF.
Pair scorecard
DFSD costs 0.28 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.3 points.
| Measure | DFSD | FSIG |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +1.1% | +0.8% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | No index, actively managed | No index, actively managed |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.16% | 0.44% |
| Net assets, DFSD as of Jul 31, 2026 and FSIG as of Oct 27, 2026 | $7.1bn | $1.5bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 1% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Nov 26, 2021 to Oct 23, 2026 · 256 weekly returns · each against AGGFSIG returned more: +13.2% to +11.9%. DFSD swung less: 2.5% to 2.8%. FSIG fell less at its worst: −6.6% to −8.3%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | DFSD | FSIG | AGG | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | |||||
| Total return | +11.9% | +13.2% | −1.3% | FSIG | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +2.3% | +2.6% | −0.3% | FSIG (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | −6.7% | −7.5% | −16.2% | DFSD | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | |||||
| Volatility | 2.5% | 2.8% | 5.9% | DFSD | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 1.9% | 2.1% | 4.4% | DFSD (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −8.3% | −6.6% | −17.1% | FSIG | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 39.0% | 45.9% | 100.0% | FSIG | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. |
| Downside capture | 32.6% | 38.3% | 100.0% | DFSD | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. |
| Beta | 0.35 | 0.42 | 1.00 | DFSD lower | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.72 | 0.77 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | |||||
| Sharpe | −0.69 | −0.50 | −0.70 | FSIG | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | −0.87 | −0.68 | −0.93 | FSIG | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | −0.048 | −0.034 | −0.041 | FSIG | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. |
| Calmar | 0.28 | 0.39 | −0.02 | FSIG | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | |||||
| Benchmark | AGG | AGG | AGG | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −0.2% a year | +0.3% a year | 0.0% | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −0.40 | 0.48 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. | |
| Alpha range | −1.4% to +0.9% | −0.9% to +1.5% | Both include zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. | |
| Information ratio | 0.60 | 0.73 | FSIG | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 4.0% | 3.7% | 0.0% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 256 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, DFSD and FSIG hold 1% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026.
half
1% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
DFSD and FSIG on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
DFSD and FSIG are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- Holdings in common. 1% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026).
- Number of holdings. DFSD holds 1,589 positions and FSIG holds 324.
- Cost. DFSD charges 0.16% of assets a year and FSIG 0.44%, a gap of 0.28 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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DFSD
DFSD is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.1% with distributions reinvested, against −1.4% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.16% a year.
FSIG
FSIG is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +0.8% with distributions reinvested, against −1.4% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.44% a year.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, DFSD or FSIG?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, DFSD returned +1.1% and FSIG +0.8%.
- Which is cheaper, DFSD or FSIG?
- DFSD is cheaper, by 0.28 percentage points a year. That is about $28 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
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ETFIQ, DFSD against FSIG, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dfsd-vs-fsig
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). DFSD against FSIG. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dfsd-vs-fsig
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