Which returned more over the last year, QLTA or UCON?

In the year to Oct 9, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QLTA returned −2.4% and UCON −0.7%.

Which is cheaper, QLTA or UCON?

QLTA is cheaper, by 0.71 percentage points a year. That is about $71 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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QLTA vs UCON: Differences, Returns & Fees

QLTA's duration was 6.5 years on Jul 31, 2026 and UCON's 4.4 on May 31, 2026; QLTA charges 0.15% to UCON's 0.86%. Net assets on Oct 9, 2026: $1.2bn for iShares Aaa - A Rated Corporate Bond ETF and $3.1bn for First Trust Smith Unconstrained Bond ETF.

QLTA costs 0.71 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.7 points; UCON is 2.7 times larger.

	QLTA	UCON
Expense ratio	0.15%	0.86%
Net assets	$1.2bn	$3.1bn
Total return, 1 year	−2.4%	−0.7%
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. Corporate Aaa - A Capped Index	No index, actively managed
Holdings in common	3%
Below its high	6.6%, high on Aug 6, 2020	3.2%, high on Jun 29, 2026

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

−2.4%

QLTA total return, 1 year

−0.7%

UCON total return, 1 year

0.15%

QLTA expense ratio

0.86%

UCON expense ratio

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, QLTA and UCON hold 3% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026.

50%

half

3% in common

Positions both hold, largest shared weight first

Holding QLTA UCON

Amazon.com Inc, due Mar 13, 2036 0.15% 0.25%

Salesforce Inc, due Mar 15, 2036 0.12% 0.27%

Wells Fargo & Co, due Apr 24, 2034 0.11% 0.16%

Meta Platforms Inc, due Nov 15, 2030 0.10% 0.22%

Wells Fargo & Co, due Apr 23, 2036 0.10% 0.20%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc/The, due Jan 21, 2032 0.09% 0.18%

Meta Platforms Inc, due May 15, 2036 0.09% 0.15%

Wells Fargo & Co, due Jan 23, 2037 0.09% 0.24%

Wells Fargo & Co, due Jan 23, 2035 0.08% 0.14%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc/The, due Oct 23, 2035 0.08% 0.16%

Meta Platforms Inc, due May 15, 2031 0.08% 0.13%

Alphabet Inc, due Feb 15, 2036 0.12% 0.08%

Only in QLTA

Broadcom Inc, due Jul 15, 2032 0.27%

Broadcom Inc, due Nov 15, 2035 0.22%

Anheuser-Busch Cos LLC / Anheuser-Busch InBev Worldwide Inc, due Feb 1, 2046 0.21%

Meta Platforms Inc, due Nov 15, 2035 0.20%

NVIDIA Corp, due Jun 15, 2031 0.16%

Meta Platforms Inc, due May 15, 2056 0.15%

NVIDIA Corp, due Jun 15, 2036 0.15%

Pfizer Investment Enterprises Pte Ltd, due May 19, 2053 0.15%

Only in UCON

T 3.375 02/29/28, due Feb 29, 2028 2.33%

T 4.625 11/15/45, due Nov 15, 2045 2.13%

T 4.75 02/15/56, due Feb 15, 2056 2.12%

T 4.375 05/15/36, due May 15, 2036 1.69%

T 3.875 04/30/31, due Apr 30, 2031 1.18%

T 4.625 11/15/55, due Nov 15, 2055 1.04%

FN BM7755, due Jun 1, 2064 0.96%

BA 7.008 05/01/64, due May 1, 2064 0.81%

Check overlap with more funds →

On the same fields

QLTA

iShares Aaa - A Rated Corporate Bond ETF

UCON

First Trust Smith Unconstrained Bond ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares First Trust

What it is Tracks an index Actively managed

Total return, 1 year −2.4% −0.7%

S&P 500 over the same days +17.3% +17.3%

Gap to the S&P 500 −19.6 pts −17.9 pts

Expense ratio 0.15% 0.86%

Holdings 3514 453

Net assets $1.2bn $3.1bn

QLTA and UCON on the fields both publish, as of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

QLTA in plain words

QLTA tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned −2.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. It sat 6.6% below its high of Aug 6, 2020 on Oct 9, 2026.

UCON in plain words

UCON is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned −0.7% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.86% a year. It sat 3.2% below its high of Jun 29, 2026 on Oct 9, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, QLTA or UCON?: In the year to Oct 9, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QLTA returned −2.4% and UCON −0.7%.
Which is cheaper, QLTA or UCON?: QLTA is cheaper, by 0.71 percentage points a year. That is about $71 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

QLTA vs SPBO CGMS vs QLTA QLTA vs VTC QLTA vs SUSC BSCX vs UCON BSCW vs UCON CORP vs UCON IBDY vs UCON

QLTA on its own →UCON on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →Standards and sources →

Where these figures came from

QLTA filings on SEC EDGAR ↗QLTA prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗iShares page for QLTA ↗UCON filings on SEC EDGAR ↗UCON prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗First Trust page for UCON ↗

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure; a link is not an endorsement. 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, QLTA against UCON, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/qlta-vs-ucon

Open data

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