Which returned more over the last year, ISTB or JFLX?

In the year to Nov 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ISTB returned +1.0% and JFLX +1.7%.

Which is cheaper, ISTB or JFLX?

ISTB is cheaper, by 0.39 percentage points a year. That is about $39 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 12, 2026.

Share on X Download as PDF

ISTB vs JFLX: Differences, Returns & Fees

Return, fees and overlap, side by side.

Return gap

+0.7 pts

1 year to Nov 12, 2026: JFLX ahead, total return

Fee gap

0.39 pts

A year: ISTB 0.06%, JFLX 0.45%, per filings dated Feb 23, 2026 and Jun 23, 2026

Overlap

Share of the two books held in common, holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026

Net flow

+$80m / +$76m

ISTB / JFLX, Oct 12, 2026 to Nov 11, 2026, daily basis

Risk and return

Oct 10, 2025 to Nov 6, 2026 · 56 weekly returns

ISTB JFLX

Return

Total return edge JFLX +2.1% +3.4%

Annualized edge JFLX +2.0% +3.2%

Price return edge JFLX −2.5% −1.6%

Risk

Volatility edge ISTB 1.8% 2.8%

Max drawdown edge ISTB −1.3% −2.4%

Downside capture 39.1% 54.1%

Beta 0.46 0.65

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge JFLX −1.04 −0.23

Sortino edge JFLX −1.25 −0.31

Treynor 0.002 −0.011

Calmar edge ISTB 1.52 1.33

Against the benchmark

Alpha 0.0% a year +1.4% a year

Alpha t-stat 0.14 0.96

Information ratio −0.01 1.28

Tracking error 2.9% 2.0%

Each against its own benchmark: ISTB against IUSB, Jun 20, 2014 to Nov 6, 2026; JFLX against AGG, Oct 10, 2025 to Nov 5, 2026.

Reading

From Oct 2025 to Nov 2026, JFLX returned more: +3.4% to +2.1%. ISTB swung less: 1.8% to 2.8%. ISTB fell less at its worst: −1.3% to −2.4%.

Full scorecard

19 measures Open ↓

Risk and return: ISTB vs JFLX: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	ISTB	JFLX	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+2.1%	+3.4%	JFLX	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+2.0%	+3.2%	JFLX	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−2.5%	−1.6%	JFLX	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	1.8%	2.8%	ISTB	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	1.5%	2.1%	ISTB	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−1.3%	−2.4%	ISTB	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	43.7%	74.3%		Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	39.1%	54.1%		Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	0.46	0.65	Not an edge	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	0.84	0.73	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	−1.04	−0.23	JFLX	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	−1.25	−0.31	JFLX	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.002	−0.011		Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	1.52	1.33	ISTB	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	IUSB	AGG		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	0.0% a year	+1.4% a year	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	0.14	0.96	Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−0.5% to +0.6%	−1.5% to +4.3%	Includes zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	−0.01	1.28		Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	2.9%	2.0%	Not an edge	How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 56 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

Pair scorecard

ISTB costs 0.39 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.7 points; ISTB is 3.1 times larger.

ISTB vs JFLX: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	ISTB	JFLX
Return
Measure	ISTB	JFLX
Total return, 1 year	+1.0%	+1.7%
Benchmark
Measure	ISTB	JFLX
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. Universal 1-5 Year Index	No index, actively managed
Cost and size
Measure	ISTB	JFLX
Expense ratio	0.06%	0.45%
Net assets	$5.3bn	$1.7bn
Holdings
Measure	ISTB	JFLX
Holdings in common	2%

Method

Key numbers

+1.0%

ISTB total return, 1 year

+1.7%

JFLX total return, 1 year

0.06%

ISTB expense ratio

0.45%

JFLX expense ratio

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, ISTB and JFLX hold 2% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

2% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first ISTB JFLX

Meridian Arc Holdco LLC, due Apr 30, 2031 0.04% 0.03%

Wells Fargo & Co, due Jul 25, 2029 0.03% 0.18%

Bank of America Corp, due Apr 25, 2029 0.03% 0.03%

PR RNO Property Owner 1 LLC, due May 1, 2031 0.03% 0.02%

Morgan Stanley, due Jan 22, 2031 0.02% 0.09%

Bank of America Corp, due Sep 15, 2029 0.02% 0.08%

Citigroup Inc, due Sep 19, 2030 0.02% 0.11%

WULF Compute LLC, due Oct 15, 2030 0.02% 0.05%

Citigroup Inc, due Sep 11, 2031 0.02% 0.05%

Morgan Stanley, due Oct 18, 2030 0.02% 0.05%

HSBC Holdings PLC, due May 22, 2030 0.02% 0.04%

Morgan Stanley, due Apr 20, 2029 0.02% 0.05%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in ISTB

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jun 15, 2028 1.08%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Feb 28, 2030 0.90%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Oct 31, 2030 0.88%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Nov 30, 2030 0.83%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Jan 31, 2031 0.81%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Sep 30, 2030 0.79%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due Aug 31, 2030 0.78%

U.S. Treasury Notes, due May 31, 2030 0.75%

Only in JFLX

GNMA II, Single Family, 30 Year, due Sep 15, 2056 3.36%

GNMA II, Single Family, 30 Year, due Sep 15, 2056 2.95%

Bundesschatzanweisungen, due Mar 15, 2028 2.40%

GNMA II, 30 Year, due Aug 20, 2052 1.81%

GNMA II, 30 Year, due Aug 20, 2056 1.50%

FNMA UMBS, 30 Year, due Sep 1, 2053 0.69%

AerCap Ireland Capital DAC, due Jan 30, 2032 0.64%

Sonoco Products Co., due Sep 1, 2034 0.56%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

ISTB iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF JFLX JPMorgan Flexible Debt ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares JPMorgan

What it is Tracks an index Actively managed

Total return, 1 year +1.0% +1.7%

Its benchmark over the same days −1.0% (IUSB) −1.3% (AGG)

Gap to its benchmark +2.0 pts vs IUSB +3.0 pts vs AGG

Expense ratio 0.06% 0.45%

Holdings 7602 1989

Net assets $5.3bn $1.7bn

ISTB and JFLX on the fields both publish, as of Nov 12, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Client brief:

The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.

Your saved page · Privacy.

Alert

About each fund

ISTB

ISTB tracks an index. Over the year to Nov 12, 2026 it returned +1.0% with distributions reinvested, against −1.0% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Universal Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.06% a year.

JFLX

JFLX is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Nov 12, 2026 it returned +1.7% with distributions reinvested, against −1.3% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.45% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, ISTB or JFLX?: In the year to Nov 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ISTB returned +1.0% and JFLX +1.7%.
Which is cheaper, ISTB or JFLX?: ISTB is cheaper, by 0.39 percentage points a year. That is about $39 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

ISTB vs JSCP BSCV vs ISTB EVSD vs ISTB ISTB vs SUSB JFLX vs NEAR DFSD vs JFLX BSCS vs JFLX BSCT vs JFLX

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

ISTB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

ISTB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for ISTB ↗

JFLX filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

JFLX prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

JPMorgan 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, ISTB against JFLX, data as of Nov 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/istb-vs-jflx

Open data →

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

Net assets on Nov 12, 2026: $5.3bn for iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF and $1.7bn for JPMorgan Flexible Debt ETF.

ISTB on its own →JFLX on its own →

Growth of 100

ISTB and JFLX

Total return, distributions reinvested, 1 year.

ISTB +1.0%JFLX +1.7%

Nov 12, 2025Nov 12, 2026

ISTB +1.0%, JFLX +1.7%: JFLX +0.7 pts ahead, 1 year, Nov 12, 2025 to Nov 12, 2026.