FTBI vs MDIV: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

First Trust Balanced Income ETF

FTBICNYSE Arca

Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund

MDIVBNasdaq

Overlap

0.1%by weight

Expense ratio

MDIV −0.27pt a year

FTBI0.98%MDIV0.71%

Avg volume · 30D

MDIV 7.7×the volume

FTBI7.55KMDIV58.4K

FTBI vs MDIV Performance

Oct 31, 2025 – Oct 30, 2026

+7.5%FTBI+11.5%MDIV

Expense ratio: FTBI 0.98%; MDIV 0.71%, better
Fund size: FTBI $30M; MDIV $418M
1Y total return: FTBI +7.5%; MDIV +11.5%, better
Yield (12M): FTBI 7.92%, better; MDIV 7.48%
Holdings: FTBI 16; MDIV 124
Avg volume (30D): FTBI 7.55K sh; MDIV 58.4K sh, better
NAV per share: FTBI $21.20; MDIV $16.18
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for FTBI, MDIV, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	FTBI	MDIV
Cost30% weight	D36	C50Higher
Mission25% weight	B68	A86Higher
Risk15% weight	D36	B55Higher
Tradability15% weight	C41	A74Higher
Holdings10% weight	B55	B67Higher
Durability5% weight	C45	A83Higher

Rank among Multi-Asset Income funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. FTBI and MDIV are both graded against the same 15 Multi-Asset Income funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Multi-Asset Income⁠

Category · 15 funds

See all 15 ›

MDIV ranks 4th and FTBI 11th of 15 funds in the Multi-Asset Income Category.

Rank 1AINCMFranklin Income Focus ETFScore 82
Rank 2AIYLDiShares Morningstar Multi-Asset Income ETFScore 79
Rank 3AINKMState Street Income Allocation ETFScore 72
Rank 4BMDIVMulti-Asset Diversified Income Index FundScore 66
Rank 5BALTYGlobal X Alternative Income ETFScore 57
Rank 10CFTHBFIS Faith Income ETFScore 48
Rank 11CFTBIFirst Trust Balanced Income ETFScore 47
Rank 12CDINESimplify Tax Aware Diversified Income Strategy ETFScore 40

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

FTBICFirst Trust Balanced Income ETF

MDIVBMulti-Asset Diversified Income Index Fund

In short

FTBI A one-ticker income recipe from a single kitchen: 60% option-income equity ETFs, 35% investment-grade bonds, 5% gold-linked income, all First Trust funds, reset semi-annually. Pays monthly, costs 0.98%.

MDIV Five income sleeves in one ticker: dividend stocks, REITs, preferreds, MLPs and a high-yield bond ETF, each reset to roughly 20% every quarter. Trading since 2012 and paying monthly, it spreads the yield hunt instead of making one big bet.

Stated mandate

FTBI The Fund seeks to match the price and yield, before fees and expenses, of the Bloomberg Moderate Allocation Income Focus Index. It normally invests at least 80% of net assets in the ETFs comprising that Index.

MDIV The Fund seeks investment results that generally track the price and yield of the Nasdaq US Multi-Asset Diversified Income Index before fees and expenses.

Why people hold it

FTBI Three asset classes in one fixed recipe: 60% equity-linked income ETFs, 35% investment-grade bond ETFs, 5% commodity-linked income, reconstituted and rebalanced semi-annually.sec.gov ftportfolios.com
Income leans on sold options, not only dividends and coupons: the equity sleeve holds buywrite and target income ETFs that collect option premiums. Distributions are monthly.ftportfolios.com
The gold sleeve is an unusual touch for multi-asset income: FLEX options referencing a gold-holding ETP, with income targeted off one-month Treasury yields.ftportfolios.com
The equity allocation splits evenly across core, growth and value styles, then equally weights the funds inside each style, so no single sleeve runs the portfolio.ftportfolios.com

MDIV Five slices, one ticker: dividend stocks, REITs, preferreds, MLPs and a high-yield bond ETF, each rebalanced back to about 20% each quarter.sec.gov
Each segment filters out names whose annual volatility runs more than 15 percentage points above its benchmark, so the wildest high-yielders get screened.ftportfolios.com nasdaqomx.com
Trading since 2012 and paying monthly, with about 120 holdings, it ranks as one of the stronger implementations in the multi-asset income group.

Worth knowing

FTBI At 0.98% the fee sits above the category median. Most of it is the underlying First Trust funds' own fees, stacked beneath a 0.25% management fee.sec.gov
Higher-ranked peers charge less: INCM at 0.38%, IYLD and INKM at 0.50%, MDIV at 0.71% net of a waiver through January 31, 2027.
Every holding comes from one house, since the index universe is limited to First Trust's own income ETFs. The fund also launched in 2025 and trades thinly.sec.gov

MDIV 0.71% net of a waiver through January 31, 2027 (0.83% gross) sits near the category median, but above peers like INCM at 0.38% and IYLD at 0.50%.
The high-yield sleeve is owned through another ETF, which may be a First Trust fund, so a slice of the cost and credit exposure sits one layer down.sec.gov
All five sleeves are income assets: preferreds, high-yield bonds, REITs and MLPs can lean the same way when rates or credit spreads move.nasdaqomx.com

Full FTBI profile⁠

Full MDIV profile⁠

FTBI vs MDIV Holdings

How FTBI and MDIV differ

Overlap by weight

0.1%

Shared holdings make up 0.3% of MDIV and 0.1% of FTBI.

Level by level

Holdings0 in both0.1%
Countryby domicile94.9%

Sector

No Sector split for FTBI.

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in FTBI and MDIV, widest gap first
Country	More in FTBIMore in MDIV	FTBI	MDIV
United States	MDIV +5.1 points	94.1%	99.2%
United Kingdom	FTBI +1.0 points	1.0%	0.0%
Netherlands	FTBI +1.0 points	1.0%	0.0%
Switzerland	FTBI +0.6 points	0.6%	0.0%
Other countries (24)	FTBI +2.5 points	3.3%	0.8%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

FTBI79.1%
MDIV32.1%

Securities held

FTBI15
MDIV123

Asset class

FTBI: Multi-Asset
MDIV: Multi-Asset

Holdings

Only in FTBI15
In both0
Only in MDIV123

Only in FTBI

15 securities, 99.9% of FTBI by weight

First Trust BuyWrite Income ETF20.08%
FT Vest Technology Dividend Target Income ETF10.24%
First Trust Nasdaq BuyWrite Income ETF10.07%
First Trust Core Investment Grade ETF6.92%
First Trust Smith Opportunistic Fixed Income ETF6.89%
FT Vest DJIA® Dogs 10 Target Income ETF5.32%
FT Vest S&P 500® Dividend Aristocrats Target Income ETF®5.12%
FT Vest Rising Dividend Achievers Target Income ETF4.93%
FT Vest SMID Rising Dividend Achievers Target Income ETF4.90%
FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF®4.58%
First Trust Limited Duration Investment Grade Corporate ETF4.40%
First Trust Intermediate Duration Investment Grade Corporate ETF4.32%
First Trust Low Duration Opportunities ETF4.11%
First Trust Intermediate Government Opportunities ETF4.04%
First Trust Long Duration Opportunities ETF4.01%

Only in MDIV

123 securities, 99.7% of MDIV by weight

First Trust Tactical High Yield ETF20.34%
Kimbell Royalty Partners LP1.38%
Mach Natural Resources LP1.37%
AGNC Investment Corp.1.34%
Annaly Capital Management, Inc.1.32%
Rithm Capital Corp.1.32%
ARMOUR Residential REIT, Inc.1.28%
TXO Partners, L.P.1.27%
Icahn Enterprises, L.P.1.27%
Rithm Capital Corp., Series B, Variable Rate1.23%
Dorchester Minerals, L.P.1.17%
Alliance Resource Partners, L.P.1.12%
Western Midstream Partners LP1.12%
CrossAmerica Partners LP1.10%
Citigroup Capital XIII, Variable Rate, due 10/30/20400.99%
Black Stone Minerals, L.P.0.96%
Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc.0.95%
Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc.0.92%
VICI Properties Inc.0.91%
AGNC Investment Corp., Series C, 7.000%, Variable Rate0.90%
Delek Logistics Partners LP0.90%
AGNC Investment Corp., Series E, 6.500% Variable Rate0.89%
USA Compression Partners LP0.89%
Rithm Capital Corp., Series D, Variable Rate0.88%
Annaly Capital Management, Inc., Series F, 6.950%, Variable Rate0.88%
Mplx Lp0.87%
AGNC Investment Corp., Series F, 6.125% Variable Rate0.87%
Lincoln National Corporation, Series D, 9.000%0.85%
Annaly Capital Management, Inc., Series G, 6.500% Variable Rate0.82%
Plains All American Pipeline, L.P.0.81%
EPR Properties0.81%
Synchrony Financial, Series B Variable Rate0.80%
Fifth Third Bancorp, Series I, 6.625%, Variable Rate0.79%
Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp., Series 19-A, 6.200%, Variable Rate, Due 07/01/20790.79%
Four Corners Property Trust, Inc.0.78%
Jackson Financial Inc., 8.000%, Variable Rate0.78%
Banc of California, Inc., Series F, 7.75% Variable Rate0.78%
Omega Healthcare Investors, Inc.0.77%
CubeSmart0.77%
Energy Transfer LP0.76%
CHS Inc., Series 1, 7.875%0.75%
American National Group Inc., Series D, 7.375%0.74%
Apollo Global Management, Inc., 7.625%, Variable Rate, Due 09/15/20530.73%
Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (Class A)0.73%
The Allstate Corporation, 5.100%, Variable Rate, Due 01/15/20530.73%
Pfizer Inc.0.72%
Hess Midstream LP (Class A)0.72%
CHS Inc., Series 4, 7.500%0.71%
Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated, 7.125%, Variable Rate, Due 10/15/20520.70%
Morgan Stanley, Series E, 7.125%, Variable Rate0.70%

Weight gaps

FTBI and MDIV share no securities.

All 15 FTBI holdings⁠All 123 MDIV holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

FTBI vs MDIV Cost

Overpaying FTBI vs MDIV

$4,580

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

FTBI 0.98%
$18,362
MDIV 0.71%
$13,782

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

FTBI 0.98%
MDIV 0.71%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	FTBI	MDIV	Overpaying
10	$1,729	$1,267	$462
20	$6,504	$4,824	$1,680
30	$18,362	$13,782	$4,580

Expense ratio

0.98%FTBI
0.71%MDIV, cheaper

MDIV0.71%FTBI0.98%

0.15%1.37%

Middle half of Multi-Asset Income funds
Median 0.71%

MDIV 8th cheapest of 15 funds

FTBI 10th cheapest of 15 funds

FTBI vs MDIV Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): FTBI 7.92%, better; MDIV 7.48%
Payout (12M): FTBI $1.68; MDIV $1.21
Last payment: FTBI $0.13; MDIV $0.08
Ex-dividend: FTBI Oct 21, 2026; MDIV Oct 21, 2026
Paid on: FTBI Oct 30, 2026; MDIV Oct 30, 2026
Frequency: FTBI Monthly; MDIV Monthly

Distribution history

Per share, 2023 to 2026, same scale for both

FTBIMonthly · 17 paymentsAll FTBI payments⁠

MDIVMonthly · 46 paymentsAll MDIV payments⁠

FTBI vs MDIV Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

This chart needs five years of history for both funds.

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: FTBI 6.4%since Jun 2025MDIV 8.5%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: FTBI 1.24since Jun 2025MDIV 0.82
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: FTBI −5.3%since May 2025MDIV −13.1%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: FTBI 0.47MDIV 0.69; Market = 1

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