Which returned more over the last year, FBND or SMTH?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FBND returned −1.5% and SMTH −1.7%.

Which is cheaper, FBND or SMTH?

FBND is cheaper, by 0.23 percentage points a year. That is about $23 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

FBND vs SMTH: Differences, Returns & Fees

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FBND's duration was 5.6 years on Aug 31, 2026 and SMTH's 6.2 on May 31, 2026; FBND charges 0.36% to SMTH's 0.59%.

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Net assets: $27.9bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Fidelity Total Bond ETF, and $2.7bn on May 31, 2026 for ALPS Smith Core Plus Bond ETF.

FBND on its own →SMTH on its own →

At a glance

−1.5%

FBND total return, 1 year

−1.7%

SMTH total return, 1 year

0.36%

FBND expense ratio

0.59%

SMTH expense ratio

Pair scorecard

FBND costs 0.23 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.2 points.

FBND vs SMTH: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	FBND	SMTH
Return
Measure	FBND	SMTH
Total return, 1 year	−1.5%	−1.7%
Benchmark
Measure	FBND	SMTH
What it tracks	No index, actively managed	No index, actively managed
Cost and size
Measure	FBND	SMTH
Expense ratio	0.36%	0.59%
Net assets, FBND as of Sep 30, 2026 and SMTH as of May 31, 2026	$27.9bn	$2.7bn
Holdings
Measure	FBND	SMTH
Holdings in common	7%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Dec 15, 2023 to Oct 23, 2026 · 149 weekly returns

FBND SMTH

Return

Total return edge FBND (slight) +9.5% +9.1%

Annualized edge FBND (slight) +3.2% +3.1%

Price return edge FBND (slight) −4.0% −4.1%

Risk

Volatility edge SMTH (slight) 4.8% 4.6%

Max drawdown edge Tie −4.7% −4.6%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge FBND −0.23 −0.28

Sortino edge FBND −0.31 −0.37

Calmar edge FBND (slight) 0.69 0.67

Reading

FBND returned slightly more: +9.5% to +9.1%. SMTH swung slightly less: 4.6% to 4.8%. FBND and SMTH fell about the same at their worst: −4.7% and −4.6%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: FBND vs SMTH: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	FBND	SMTH	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+9.5%	+9.1%	FBND (slight)	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+3.2%	+3.1%	FBND (slight)	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−4.0%	−4.1%	FBND (slight)	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	4.8%	4.6%	SMTH (slight)	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	3.6%	3.4%	SMTH (slight)	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−4.7%	−4.6%	Tie	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	−0.23	−0.28	FBND	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	−0.31	−0.37	FBND	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.69	0.67	FBND (slight)	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 149 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, FBND and SMTH hold 7% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

7% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FBND SMTH

UST NOTES 4.375% 05/15/2036, due May 15, 2036 2.73% 1.68%

UST NOTES 4.125% 02/15/2036, due Feb 15, 2036 2.04% 1.52%

UNITED STATES TREASURY BOND 4.75% 08/15/2055, due Aug 15, 2055 1.00% 3.03%

UNITED STATES TREASURY BOND 4.75% 02/15/2056, due Feb 15, 2056 0.90% 1.60%

UNITED STATES TREASURY BOND 4.625% 11/15/2055, due Nov 15, 2055 0.73% 3.52%

UNITED STATES TREASURY BOND 5% 05/15/2056, due May 15, 2056 1.36% 0.49%

UST NOTES 4.125% 04/30/2033, due Apr 30, 2033 0.34% 0.10%

UNITED STATES TREASURY BOND 4.625% 11/15/2045, due Nov 15, 2045 0.09% 3.92%

FHLG 30YR 3% 03/01/2052#SD7553, due Mar 1, 2052 0.08% 0.14%

BOEING CO 6.528% 05/01/2034, due May 1, 2034 0.06% 0.46%

WELLS FARGO and CO NEW 5.605%/VAR 04/23/2036, due Apr 23, 2036 0.06% 0.36%

HUT 8 DC LLC 6.192% 11/15/2042 144A, due Nov 15, 2042 0.06% 0.05%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in FBND

UMBS 30YR 2% 09/01/2056 #TBA, due Sep 1, 2056 1.99%

UST NOTES 4.25% 08/15/2035, due Aug 15, 2035 1.97%

UNITED STATES TREASURY BOND 4.25% 02/15/2054, due Feb 15, 2054 1.37%

UST NOTES 3.875% 12/31/2032, due Dec 31, 2032 1.36%

GNII II 5.5% 09/01/2056 #TBA, due Sep 1, 2056 1.28%

UMBS 30YR 2% 10/01/2056 #TBA, due Oct 1, 2056 1.25%

UNITED STATES TREASURY BOND 4.5% 11/15/2054, due Nov 15, 2054 1.12%

UST NOTES 4% 01/31/2033, due Jan 31, 2033 1.09%

Only in SMTH

United States Treasury Notes, due Feb 29, 2028 5.53%

United States Treasury Notes, due Oct 31, 2029 4.31%

United States Treasury Notes, due Jan 31, 2030 2.90%

United States Treasury Notes, due Aug 31, 2027 1.88%

United States Treasury Notes, due May 31, 2030 1.37%

United States Treasury Notes, due Oct 31, 2027 1.35%

United States Treasury Notes, due Jan 31, 2028 0.73%

RTX Corp., due Mar 15, 2034 0.64%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

FBND Fidelity Total Bond ETF SMTH ALPS Smith Core Plus Bond ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer Fidelity ALPS

What it is Actively managed Actively managed

Total return, 1 year −1.5% −1.7%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured −1.4% (AGG)

Gap to its benchmark not measured −0.3 pts vs AGG

Expense ratio 0.36% 0.59%

Holdings 4696 984

Net assets, FBND as of Sep 30, 2026 and SMTH as of May 31, 2026 $27.9bn $2.7bn

FBND and SMTH on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-788159A4E3

FBND and SMTH are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?

Holdings in common. 7% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Aug 31, 2026 and May 31, 2026).
Number of holdings. FBND holds 4,696 positions and SMTH holds 984.
Cost. FBND charges 0.36% of assets a year and SMTH 0.59%, a gap of 0.23 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

FBND

FBND is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −1.5% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.36% a year.

SMTH

SMTH is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −1.7% with distributions reinvested, against −1.4% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.59% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, FBND or SMTH?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FBND returned −1.5% and SMTH −1.7%.
Which is cheaper, FBND or SMTH?: FBND is cheaper, by 0.23 percentage points a year. That is about $23 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

FBND vs FTCB FBND vs GTO FBND vs PTRB FBND vs FIXD SMTH vs UBND SMTH vs SYSB JCPB vs SMTH IUSB vs SMTH

Where to next

FBND on its own →SMTH on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →FBND dividend history →FBND holdings →SMTH dividend history →SMTH holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

FBND filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

FBND prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Fidelity website ↗

SMTH filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

SMTH prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

ALPS website ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, FBND against SMTH, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/fbnd-vs-smth

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Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.