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ETF Model Portfolios · FTBI · Moderate band

FTBI against the ETFIQ Strategic 60 benchmark

First Trust Balanced Income ETF holds 61.2% of its net assets in stocks, counted through the funds it holds, which places it in the moderate band. Its matched benchmark is ETFIQ Strategic, 60% stocks, a written rule, not a fund.

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In the year to Sep 30, 2026, FTBI returned +7.61%, 1.32 points behind the ETFIQ Strategic 60 benchmark’s hypothetical +8.93%.

Growth of $10,000

Trailing ranges end on Sep 30, 2026, All on Oct 9, 2026. FTBI’s line is its own market-price total return; the benchmark’s is dashed and shaded where hypothetical, before Oct 5, 2026. The largest drawdown of FTBI is shaded where the comparison dates it. Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices. Not published: the 3Y range, the comparison carries no such window; the 5Y range, the comparison carries no such window; the 10Y range, the comparison carries no such window.

Growth of $10,000 over 1Y, Sep 30, 2025 to Sep 30, 2026: FTBI ends at $10,761, Strategic 60 at $10,893, the benchmark hypothetical.$11,529$10,884$10,240$9,595hypothetical · the current rule applied to past prices$10,761$10,8932025 Sep2025 Dec2026 Apr2026 Jul2026 Sep
FTBIStrategic 60, the benchmarkHypothetical
Value of $10,000 at six points from Sep 30, 2025 to Sep 30, 2026; the same numbers as the chart. FTBI is its market-price total return; the benchmark is hypothetical.
Value onSep 30, 2025Dec 10, 2025Feb 24, 2026May 7, 2026Jul 21, 2026Sep 30, 2026
FTBI$10,000$10,297$10,611$10,739$10,865$10,761
Reference$10,000$10,223$10,578$10,814$10,918$10,893
Growth of $10,000 over the whole shared history, May 29, 2025 to Oct 9, 2026: FTBI ends at $11,841, Strategic 60 at $11,975, the benchmark hypothetical.$12,540$11,593$10,647$9,700hypothetical · the current rule applied to past pricestracked$11,841$11,97520252025202620262026
FTBIStrategic 60, the benchmarkHypothetical
Value of $10,000 at six points from May 29, 2025 to Oct 9, 2026; the same numbers as the chart. FTBI is its market-price total return; the benchmark is hypothetical.
Value onMay 29, 2025Sep 8, 2025Dec 12, 2025Mar 25, 2026Jul 2, 2026Oct 9, 2026
FTBI$10,000$10,748$11,171$11,191$11,852$11,841
Reference$10,000$10,750$11,077$11,065$11,934$11,975

FTBI and Strategic 60 by window

WindowFromToFTBIStrategic 60Difference, pointsSide
Year to dateDec 31, 2025Oct 9, 2026+5.93%+7.49%*−1.56FTBI behind
1 yearSep 30, 2025Sep 30, 2026+7.61%+8.93%*−1.32FTBI behind
3 years, a yearnot publishednot publishednot publishednot publishednot publishednot published
5 years, a yearnot publishednot publishednot publishednot publishednot publishednot published
10 years, a yearnot publishednot publishednot publishednot publishednot publishednot published
Since May 29, 2025, a yearMay 30, 2025Sep 30, 2026+12.44%+13.68%*−1.24FTBI behind
FTBI’s own market-price total return beside Strategic 60 over the same closes; YTD and 1 year as total returns, the longer windows a year over whole months. The difference is the two printed figures subtracted, in percentage points. *Hypothetical as a whole: the benchmark’s window begins before its tracked date, Oct 5, 2026. Data sourced by Tiingo.

Fees

PortfolioFeeA yearOn $10,000As of
FTBIExpense ratio, from its prospectus0.98%$98Jul 29, 2026
Strategic 60Weighted fund fee, inside its returns0.05%$5Oct 9, 2026
Both fees are already inside the returns above. On $10,000 is the fee times 100, the dollars a year at that fee.
How a benchmark is published

A written rule over broad, low-cost ETFs, frozen on Oct 3, 2026, with its weights, calendar and returns on its own page. Figures before Oct 5, 2026 are hypothetical: today’s rule and funds applied to earlier prices. Total returns are market price with distributions reinvested, net of each fund’s own fees, with nothing else deducted. The price source does not carry funds that closed before 2016, so nothing here is free of survivorship bias. Methodology v1.3 →

Where to next
FTBI fund page→The Strategic 60 benchmark→Every benchmark at 60% stocks→Every model, side by side→How the benchmarks are built→

Questions people ask about FTBI and its benchmark

Why is FTBI measured against ETFIQ Strategic 60?
FTBI holds 61.2% of its net assets in stocks, counted through the funds it holds, so it sits in the moderate band, more than 50% and up to 70% stocks. ETFIQ Strategic 60 is the benchmark for that band.
What does ETFIQ Strategic 60 hold?
60% VT and 40% US bonds (BND and AGG in equal parts), rebalanced on the last trading day of each month. It is a published rule, not a fund, and ETFIQ takes no payment from any fund company.
Why are the benchmark’s returns hypothetical?
Its rule was frozen on a stated date. Returns before it apply today’s rule and funds to earlier prices; the fund’s own returns are its market price with distributions reinvested. The price source does not carry funds that closed before 2016, so nothing here is free of survivorship bias.
Cite this page

ETFIQ, FTBI vs the ETFIQ Strategic 60 benchmark, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/models/compare/ftbi/

Open data →

Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms. The underlying files are at Open data. Figures before Oct 5, 2026 are hypothetical.

Sources and credit
Prices and distributions, every fund the benchmarks holdData sourced by Tiingo · end of day · Oct 9, 2026The risk-free rate, for the Sharpe ratioU.S. Treasury daily bill ratesFTBI’s page, with its prospectus and feeFTBI’s page, with its prospectus and feeFTBI’s prospectus filing, for its expense ratioFTBI’s prospectus filing, for its expense ratio

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices. Data sourced by Tiingo.