Launched Feb 14, 2017 · SEC filings

First Trust Smith Opportunistic Fixed Income ETF

FIXDNasdaqFirst TrustC

$41.96−0.03 (−0.07%)

At close: Nov 2, 2026, 4:00 PM ET

C49/ 100

Rank 86 of 116 in US Aggregate Bond

C49/100Rank 86 of 116inUS Aggregate Bond

Expense ratio: 0.65%
Fund size: $2.83B
1Y total return: −1.2%
Yield · Last 12 months: 4.83%
Holdings: 411
Avg volume · 30D: 462K sh
52W range: low $38.56high $45.16
Launched: Feb 14, 2017
Filings: SEC EDGAR

The ETF.net FIXD Grade

Score 49 out of 100

Category: US Aggregate Bond⁠
Rank: 86 of 116

Cost
F7 out of 100
Rank 106 of 115
Mission
A100 out of 100
Rank 1 of 100
Risk
D29 out of 100
Rank 110 of 116
Tradability
B59 out of 100
Rank 34 of 116
Holdings
C52 out of 100
Rank 67 of 115
Durability
A75 out of 100
Rank 25 of 116

Our read on FIXD

ETF.net Research

In short

CMost of the aggregate-bond aisle is index tracking on autopilot. FIXD goes the other way: an active manager roaming roughly 900 bonds under a mandate to maximize long-term total return, with distributions paid monthly.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks to maximize long-term total return. Under normal market conditions, it invests at least 80% of its net assets in fixed income securities.

Why people hold it

Genuinely active: at least 80% of net assets sit in fixed income, but the manager roams sectors by conviction rather than replicating an index.ftportfolios.com
Roughly 900 bond positions under the hood, so no single issuer carries the portfolio.
Distributions land monthly, the cadence many core bond holders build income around.
Live since its 2017 launch and now a multi-billion-dollar fund that has stayed inside its stated fixed income mandate.

Worth knowing

The 0.65% fee is the trade-off. Index core bond funds like BND and SPAB charge 0.03%, so the manager's calls have to cover that gap.
No index anchors it. Outcomes follow a manager's positioning, so it can diverge from the broad bond market in either direction.
Trading is moderate rather than heavy next to the category's index giants, so spreads can matter more on larger orders.

FIXD Holdings

Holdings pillarC52Rank 67 of 115 in US Aggregate Bond

Asset class: Bonds
Holdings: 411
Top-10 weight: 26%
Largest holding: U.S. Treasury Bond, 5.125%, due 08/15/20465.3%

Geography

United States94.77%
Canada1.77%
Switzerland0.68%
Cayman Islands0.64%
United Kingdom0.64%

Saudi Arabia0.40%
Denmark0.40%
Ireland0.30%
Other countries (2)0.39%

The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 28.
#	Ticker	Company	Weight %	Shares	Market value	Held by ETFs
1	No data	U.S. Treasury Bond, 5.125%, due 08/15/2046	5.29%	151,118,000	$148M	28
2	No data	U.S. Treasury Note, 4.375%, due 05/15/2036	4.75%	138,140,000	$133M	21
3	No data	U.S. Treasury Bond, 5%, due 05/15/2056	3.08%	89,745,000	$85.8M	30
4	No data	U.S. Treasury Note, 4.125%, due 10/31/2029	2.73%	77,369,000	$76.2M	17
5	No data	U.S. Treasury Note, 4.125%, due 08/31/2028	2.72%	76,385,000	$75.8M	17
6	No data	U.S. Treasury Note, 3.375%, due 02/29/2028	1.90%	53,861,000	$53.1M	17
7	No data	U.S. Treasury Bond, 5%, due 05/15/2046	1.86%	53,928,000	$51.8M	21
8	No data	U.S. Treasury Note, 4.75%, due 09/30/2028	1.55%	42,995,000	$43.1M	26
9	No data	THE BOEING CO 7.008%, due 05/01/2064	0.98%	26,035,000	$27.5M	8
10	No data	GILDAN ACTIVEWEAR INC 5.40%, due 10/07/2035	0.91%	27,350,000	$25.5M	8
11	No data	U.S. Treasury Bond, 1.625%, due 11/15/2050	0.85%	47,765,000	$23.6M	16
12	No data	FIRST CITIZENS BANCSHARES Variable rate, due 03/12/2040	0.79%	23,040,000	$21.9M	8
13	No data	U.S. Treasury Bond, 5.125%, due 08/15/2056	0.78%	22,296,000	$21.7M	23
14	No data	Fannie Mae FN FA4541, 5%, due 02/01/2056	0.76%	22,093,934	$21.2M	2
15	No data	ALBERTSONS COS/SAFEWAY 6.50%, due 02/15/2028	0.74%	20,600,000	$20.7M	11

Showing 1–15 of 411 holdings

FIXD Performance

Launched Feb 14, 2017

FIXD$9,876

$11,199

Oct 31, 2025 – Oct 30, 2026

Trailing total return for FIXD. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
Period	FIXD
Year to date	−1.6%
1 month	+2.1%
3 months	−0.8%
1 year	−1.2%
3 years	per year+5.3%
5 years	per year−0.8%
10 yearsFund is under 10 years old	per yearNo data

With distributions reinvested.

Annual total returns for FIXD
Year	Return bar	FIXD
2026 YTD		−1.6%
2025		+7.9%
2024		+0.5%
2023		+5.7%
2022		−14.9%
2021		−1.3%
2020		+8.9%

FIXD in the news

Filtered to FIXD · US Aggregate Bond

Best ETFs
Best bond ETFs for a portfolio hold the whole investment-grade market
Updated Nov 2, 2026AGG+0.15%
Category Review
Active emerging-markets ETFs that did not look like the MSCI index did not finish with it
Updated Nov 2, 2026AVEM−0.05%
Category Rankings
Chips, AI and crypto took October's losses
Updated Nov 2, 2026SPY−0.47%
Bonds & Rates
A 7- to 10-year Treasury fund rose more than the long-bond fund
Oct 31, 2026IEF+0.06%
Top Movers
Brazil small-cap fund falls 37% in the week Lula won again
Oct 30, 2026EWZS−0.57%
Head-to-Head
BND and BNDX are not substitutes. Own both, or own one market.
Oct 29, 2026BND+0.04%

FIXD Dividends

: 4.83%Last 12 months
Payout per share: $2.03Last 12 months

Last payment: $0.17 per share
Paid on: Oct 30, 2026
: Oct 21, 2026
Frequency: Monthly

Distribution history

2023–2026

Ex-date	Pay date	Amount per share
Oct 21, 2026	Oct 30, 2026	$0.17
Sep 24, 2026	Sep 30, 2026	$0.17
Aug 21, 2026	Aug 31, 2026	$0.17
Jul 21, 2026	Jul 31, 2026	$0.17
Jun 25, 2026	Jun 30, 2026	$0.17
May 21, 2026	May 29, 2026	$0.17
Apr 21, 2026	Apr 30, 2026	$0.17
Mar 26, 2026	Mar 31, 2026	$0.17
Feb 20, 2026	Feb 27, 2026	$0.17
Jan 21, 2026	Jan 30, 2026	$0.17
Dec 12, 2025	Dec 31, 2025	$0.19
Nov 21, 2025	Nov 28, 2025	$0.19

See all 117 payments⁠

$10,000 in FIXD 5 years ago paid $1,636 in dividends.⁠

FIXD Risk

Risk pillarD29Rank 110 of 116 in US Aggregate Bond

: 6.5%; Annualised · 36 months to Oct 2026; How it’s calculated: standard deviation
The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.
: 0.14; vs 3-month T-bills · to Oct 2026; How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio
Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.
Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.
: −19.7%; Trough Oct 2022; How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown
The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.
Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.
: 1.13; vs its asset-class index; How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
FMP measures it over up to five years of monthly returns.

FIXD Cost

Compare FIXD and BKAG

Overpaying vs BKAG, cheapest in US Aggregate Bond

$12,717

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

FIXD 0.65%
$12,717
BKAG 0.00% Cheapest
$0

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

FIXD 0.65%
BKAG 0.00%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	FIXD	BKAG	Overpaying
10	$1,163	$0	$1,163
20	$4,440	$0	$4,440
30	$12,717	$0	$12,717

Other funds in US Aggregate Bond

COACPOneAscent Core Plus Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.74%1 year return −0.6%
CSMTHALPS Funds Smith Core Plus Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.59%1 year return −0.3%
CSDCPVirtus Newfleet Short Duration Core Plus Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.35%1 year return +2.7%
CHTABHartford Schroders Tax-Aware Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.39%1 year return −0.7%
CJIIIJanus Henderson Income ETFExpense ratio 0.54%1 year return +1.8%

See others

First Trust Smith Opportunistic Fixed Income ETF

Cost

Mission

Risk

Tradability

Holdings

Durability