Category Review
Municipal bond funds are down for the year after a third-quarter selloff erased the first-half gain
TCW Core Plus Bond ETF
$35.98+0.01 (+0.01%)
- 0.40%
- $244M
- −1.9%
- 5.62%
- 0M sh
- $35.91
- low $35.65high $39.35
The ETF.net FIXT Grade
C
Score 50 out of 100
- 83 of 117
Score 50 of 100 falls in the C band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.
Cost
The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.D37 out of 100Rank 68 of 117Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A90 out of 100Rank 75 of 101Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.D38 out of 100Rank 88 of 116Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.D35 out of 100Rank 90 of 117Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.D35 out of 100Rank 95 of 116Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.C54 out of 100Rank 63 of 117
Our read on FIXT
CAn active core-plus bond fund that reaches for return outside the Agg while keeping duration within about a year of it. TCW's desk picks the sectors; the interest-rate exposure stays close to the benchmark.
FIXT is an actively managed core-plus bond ETF seeking consistent income and strong returns with modest risk. Its strategy uses benchmark-aware sector allocation while keeping duration within approximately one year of the benchmark.
Why people hold it
- Core-plus with a leash: it can range beyond the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate for yield, but duration stays within roughly a year of the index, so it isn't a big rate bet.
- At 0.40%, it undercuts several active funds measured against the same index, including DBND (0.45%), SIFI (0.50%) and FTBD (0.55%).
- Pays monthly and spreads the work across roughly 600 bonds, so income arrives on a steady cadence rather than in quarterly lumps.
- Inception dates to 2002, meaning the strategy has run through multiple rate cycles, not just the post-2020 ETF boom.
Worth knowing
- You pay 0.40% here against 0.03% at plain Agg trackers like BND, AGG and SPAB. The manager's sector calls carry that difference.
- Small and thinly traded, so spreads can be wider than the giants of the category. Limit orders are the usual habit with funds like this.
- In a peer group stacked with three-basis-point index funds, it lands in the lower half overall; the case rests on active credit and sector work.
FIXT Holdings
- Bonds
- 630
- 42%
- Us Treasury N/B 09/28 4.75
Sectors
- Government40.3%
- Securitized39.0%
- Corporate20.7%
- Municipal0.0%
Geography
- United States98.56%
- Australia0.98%
- France0.22%
- Germany0.12%
- Egypt0.07%
- Hong Kong0.04%
FIXT Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
Not enough history yet.Not enough history yet.
FIXT$9,811
Returns run to the Oct 12, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
| Period | FIXT |
|---|---|
| Year to date | −2.3% |
| 1 month | −1.4% |
| 3 months | −2.8% |
| 1 year | −1.9% |
| 3 years | +12.2% |
| 5 years | — |
| 10 years | — |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | FIXT |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | −2.3% | |
| 2023 | +26.7% | |
| 2022 | −1.9% |
FIXT in the news
FIXT Dividends
- 5.62%
- $2.02
- $0.14 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
FIXT Risk
- 14.2%
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.
- 0.88
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.
- −20.4%
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.
- 0.75
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
FIXT Cost
0.40%
FIXT0.40%
- The middle half of US Aggregate Bond funds
- Median 0.34%
71 of the 113 US Aggregate Bond funds charge less.
Other funds in US Aggregate Bond
- CBNDCNorthern Trust Core Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.49%1 year return −2.4%
- CFIXDFirst Trust Smith Opportunistic Fixed Income ETFExpense ratio 0.65%1 year return −2.5%
- CZHOGF/m Opportunistic Income ETFExpense ratio 0.40%1 year return —
- CMAGGMadison Aggregate Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.36%1 year return −2.1%
- CTABDTransamerica Bond Active ETFExpense ratio 0.57%1 year return —