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

In the year to Oct 9, 2026, with distributions reinvested, UCON returned −0.7% and VCEB −2.3%.

Which is cheaper, UCON or VCEB?

VCEB is cheaper, by 0.74 percentage points a year. That is about $74 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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UCON vs VCEB: Differences, Returns & Fees

On May 31, 2026 UCON's duration was 4.4 years and VCEB's 6.3; VCEB charges 0.12% to UCON's 0.86%. Net assets: $3.1bn on Oct 9, 2026 for First Trust Smith Unconstrained Bond ETF, and $1.2bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard ESG U.S. Corporate Bond ETF.

VCEB costs 0.74 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.6 points; UCON is 2.7 times larger.

	UCON	VCEB
Expense ratio	0.86%	0.12%
Net assets, as of May 31, 2026	$3.3bn	$1.2bn
Total return, 1 year	−0.7%	−2.3%
What it tracks	No index, actively managed	Bloomberg MSCI US Corporate SRI Select Index
Holdings in common	4%
Below its high	3.2%, high on Jun 29, 2026	4.2%, high on Feb 26, 2026

Holdings in common uses holdings dated May 31, 2026.

−0.7%

UCON total return, 1 year

−2.3%

VCEB total return, 1 year

0.86%

UCON expense ratio

0.12%

VCEB expense ratio

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, UCON and VCEB hold 4% 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.

50%

half

4% in common

Positions both hold, largest shared weight first

Holding UCON VCEB

AMZN 4.875 03/13/36, due Mar 13, 2036 0.25% 0.16%

WFC V4.96 01/23/37, due Jan 23, 2037 0.24% 0.15%

GS V4.516 01/21/32, due Jan 21, 2032 0.18% 0.13%

META 4.2 11/15/30, due Nov 15, 2030 0.22% 0.13%

GS V5.016 10/23/35, due Oct 23, 2035 0.16% 0.12%

CRM 5.55 03/15/36, due Mar 15, 2036 0.27% 0.11%

GOOGL 5.7 11/15/75, due Nov 15, 2075 0.11% 0.09%

ORCL 4.95 02/04/31, due Feb 4, 2031 0.15% 0.09%

WFC V5.605 04/23/36, due Apr 23, 2036 0.20% 0.08%

HCA 3.5 09/01/30, due Sep 1, 2030 0.08% 0.10%

WFC V5.499 01/23/35, due Jan 23, 2035 0.14% 0.08%

GOOGL 4.8 02/15/36, due Feb 15, 2036 0.08% 0.14%

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 4.625 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%

FNR 2024-82 CF, due Nov 25, 2054 0.73%

ACI 6.5 02/15/28 144A, due Feb 15, 2028 0.71%

Only in VCEB

US TREASURY N/B, due May 31, 2028 0.41%

MORGAN STANLEY, due Apr 12, 2029 0.27%

BANK OF AMER CRP, due Feb 13, 2031 0.18%

MORGAN STANLEY, due Mar 12, 2032 0.16%

GOLDMAN SACHS GP, due Jan 21, 2037 0.15%

T-MOBILE USA INC, due Apr 15, 2030 0.15%

AMAZON.COM INC, due Dec 5, 2034 0.15%

META PLATFORMS, due Nov 15, 2045 0.15%

Check overlap with more funds →

On the same fields

UCON

First Trust Smith Unconstrained Bond ETF

VCEB

Vanguard ESG U.S. Corporate Bond ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer First Trust Vanguard

What it is Actively managed Tracks an index

Total return, 1 year −0.7% −2.3%

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

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

Expense ratio 0.86% 0.12%

Holdings 453 2734

Net assets, UCON as of Oct 9, 2026 and VCEB as of Sep 30, 2026 $3.1bn $1.2bn

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

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.

VCEB in plain words

VCEB tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned −2.3% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.12% a year. It sat 4.2% below its high of Feb 26, 2026 on Oct 9, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, UCON or VCEB?: In the year to Oct 9, 2026, with distributions reinvested, UCON returned −0.7% and VCEB −2.3%.
Which is cheaper, UCON or VCEB?: VCEB is cheaper, by 0.74 percentage points a year. That is about $74 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BSCW vs UCON UCON vs VTC UCON vs USIG QLTA vs UCON CGMS vs VCEB CORP vs VCEB BSCW vs VCEB IGIB vs VCEB

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

Where these figures came from

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

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, UCON against VCEB, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ucon-vs-vceb

Open data

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