Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
FTCB vs SMTH: Differences, Returns & Fees
FTCB's duration was 6.0 years on Jul 31, 2026 and SMTH's 6.2 on May 31, 2026; FTCB charges 0.56% to SMTH's 0.59%.
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Net assets: $2.7bn on Oct 27, 2026 for First Trust Core Investment Grade ETF, and $2.7bn on May 31, 2026 for ALPS Smith Core Plus Bond ETF.
Pair scorecard
FTCB costs 0.03 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.3 points.
| Measure | FTCB | SMTH |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | −2.0% | −1.7% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 3.7%, high on Feb 27, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | No index, actively managed | No index, actively managed |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.56% | 0.59% |
| Net assets, FTCB as of Oct 27, 2026 and SMTH as of May 31, 2026 | $2.7bn | $2.7bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 2% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Dec 15, 2023 to Oct 23, 2026 · 149 weekly returns · each against AGGFTCB returned slightly more: +9.5% to +9.1%. SMTH swung less: 4.6% to 5.1%. SMTH fell less at its worst: −4.6% to −5.3%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | FTCB | SMTH | AGG | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | |||||
| Total return | +9.5% | +9.1% | FTCB (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. | |
| Annualized | +3.2% | +3.1% | FTCB (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. | |
| Price return | −5.3% | −4.1% | SMTH | Price change alone, distributions left out. | |
| Risk | |||||
| Volatility | 5.1% | 4.6% | SMTH | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. | |
| Downside deviation | 3.8% | 3.4% | SMTH (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. | |
| Max drawdown | −5.3% | −4.6% | SMTH | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. | |
| Upside capture | 107.4% | 96.9% | 100.0% | FTCB (slight) | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. |
| Downside capture | 103.6% | 94.8% | 100.0% | SMTH (slight) | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. |
| Beta | 1.05 | 0.93 | 1.00 | SMTH lower | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.97 | 0.97 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | |||||
| Sharpe | −0.22 | −0.28 | FTCB | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. | |
| Sortino | −0.29 | −0.37 | FTCB | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. | |
| Treynor | −0.011 | −0.014 | −0.016 | FTCB | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. |
| Calmar | 0.61 | 0.67 | SMTH (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. | |
| Against the benchmark | |||||
| Benchmark | AGG | AGG | AGG | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +0.5% a year | +0.2% a year | 0.0% | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 1.05 | 0.37 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. | |
| Alpha range | −0.5% to +1.5% | −0.8% to +1.2% | Both include zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. | |
| Information ratio | 0.52 | 0.32 | FTCB | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 0.9% | 0.9% | 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, 149 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, FTCB and SMTH hold 2% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026.
half
2% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
FTCB and SMTH on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
FTCB and SMTH are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- Holdings in common. 2% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and May 31, 2026).
- What each follows (similar). Both follow No index, actively managed.
- One-year total return (similar). Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 FTCB returned −2.0% and SMTH −1.7% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 0.3 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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FTCB
FTCB is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −2.0% with distributions reinvested, against −1.4% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.56% a year. It sat 3.7% below its high of Feb 27, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
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, FTCB or SMTH?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FTCB returned −2.0% and SMTH −1.7%.
- Which is cheaper, FTCB or SMTH?
- FTCB is cheaper, by 0.03 percentage points a year. That is about $3 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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.
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ETFIQ, FTCB against SMTH, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ftcb-vs-smth
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). FTCB against SMTH. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ftcb-vs-smth
[FTCB against SMTH (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ftcb-vs-smth)
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