Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
FTCB vs SYSB: Differences, Returns & Fees
On Jul 31, 2026 FTCB's duration was 6.0 years and SYSB's 5.9; SYSB charges 0.25% to FTCB's 0.56%.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $2.7bn for First Trust Core Investment Grade ETF and $1.4bn for iShares Systematic Bond ETF.
Pair scorecard
SYSB costs 0.31 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.1 points; FTCB is 1.9 times larger.
| Measure | FTCB | SYSB |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | −2.0% | −1.9% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 3.7%, high on Feb 27, 2026 | 3.3%, high on Feb 27, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | No index, actively managed | BlackRock Universal Systematic Bond Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.56% | 0.25% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $2.7bn | $1.4bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 2% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Nov 17, 2023 to Oct 23, 2026 · 153 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: FTCB against AGG, Nov 17, 2023 to Oct 23, 2026; SYSB against IUSB, Mar 6, 2015 to Oct 23, 2026.
SYSB returned more: +17.6% to +14.5%. SYSB swung less: 3.9% to 5.3%. SYSB fell slightly less at its worst: −5.0% to −5.3%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | FTCB | SYSB | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +14.5% | +17.6% | SYSB | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +4.7% | +5.6% | SYSB | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | −1.1% | +2.0% | SYSB | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 5.3% | 3.9% | SYSB | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 3.7% | 2.7% | SYSB | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −5.3% | −5.0% | SYSB (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 107.2% | 72.5% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 103.3% | 71.4% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 1.04 | 0.85 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.97 | 0.75 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.06 | 0.29 | SYSB | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.08 | 0.43 | SYSB | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.003 | 0.001 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.88 | 1.13 | SYSB | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | AGG | IUSB | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +0.6% a year | +0.2% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 1.09 | 0.29 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −0.5% to +1.6% | −1.2% to +1.7% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | 0.61 | 0.09 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 0.9% | 2.6% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 153 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, FTCB and SYSB hold 2% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026.
half
2% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
FTCB and SYSB on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
FTCB and SYSB are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. FTCB follows No index, actively managed and SYSB follows BlackRock Universal Systematic Bond Index.
- Holdings in common. 2% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026).
- Cost. FTCB charges 0.56% of assets a year and SYSB 0.25%, a gap of 0.31 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.
SYSB
SYSB tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −1.9% with distributions reinvested, against −1.2% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Universal Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.25% a year. It sat 3.3% below its high of Feb 27, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, FTCB or SYSB?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FTCB returned −2.0% and SYSB −1.9%.
- Which is cheaper, FTCB or SYSB?
- SYSB is cheaper, by 0.31 percentage points a year. That is about $31 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 SYSB, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ftcb-vs-sysb
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). FTCB against SYSB. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ftcb-vs-sysb
[FTCB against SYSB (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ftcb-vs-sysb)
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