FTCB vs IUSB: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

First Trust Core Investment Grade ETF

FTCBCNYSE Arca

iShares Core Universal USD Bond ETF

IUSBANasdaq

Overlap

No data

Expense ratio

IUSB −0.50pt a year

FTCB0.56%IUSB0.06%

Avg volume · 30D

IUSB 7.3×the volume

FTCB839KIUSB6.13M

FTCB vs IUSB Performance

Oct 31, 2025 – Oct 30, 2026

−0.6%FTCB0.0%IUSB

Expense ratio: FTCB 0.56%; IUSB 0.06%, better
Fund size: FTCB $2.76B; IUSB $50.2B
1Y total return: FTCB −0.6%; IUSB 0.0%, better
Yield (12M): FTCB 5.50%, better; IUSB 4.32%
Holdings: FTCB 724; IUSB 18280
Avg volume (30D): FTCB 839K sh; IUSB 6.13M sh, better
NAV per share: FTCB $20.18; IUSB $44.91
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for FTCB, IUSB, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	FTCB	IUSB
Cost30% weight	F13	A92Higher
Mission25% weight	A100	A100
Risk15% weight	D32	C54Higher
Tradability15% weight	B66	A89Higher
Holdings10% weight	C48	A76Higher
Durability5% weight	A70	A94Higher

Rank among US Aggregate Bond funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. FTCB and IUSB are both graded against the same 114 US Aggregate Bond funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

US Aggregate Bond⁠

Category · 114 funds

See all 114 ›

IUSB ranks 2nd and FTCB 78th of 114 funds in the US Aggregate Bond Category.

Rank 1AAGGiShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETFScore 87
Rank 2AIUSBiShares Core Universal USD Bond ETFScore 86
Rank 2ASCHZSchwab U.S. Aggregate Bond ETFScore 86
Rank 76CWABFWestern Asset Bond ETFScore 52
Rank 78CFTCBFirst Trust Core Investment Grade ETFScore 51
Rank 78CMAGGMadison Aggregate Bond ETFScore 51

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

FTCBCFirst Trust Core Investment Grade ETF

IUSBAiShares Core Universal USD Bond ETF

In short

FTCB First Trust's take on the core bond sleeve: roughly 300 investment-grade bonds, no index to hug, income paid monthly. You pay up for a manager making the calls instead of a benchmark doing it for free.

IUSB Most core bond funds stop at investment grade. IUSB keeps going, folding high-yield USD debt into the same wrapper across roughly 18,000 bonds, for 0.06% a year.

Stated mandate

FTCB The fund seeks long-term total return and normally invests its entire investment portfolio in investment-grade securities.

IUSB The Fund seeks to track an index of U.S.-dollar-denominated bonds spanning investment-grade and high-yield sectors.

Why people hold it

FTCB Does what the label says. The mandate keeps the entire portfolio in investment-grade securities, and the fund has stayed tightly inside that brief.ftportfolios.com
Pays monthly, spread across roughly 300 bonds, so income lands on a steady rhythm rather than in quarterly lumps.
Launched in 2023 and already a multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, so size and liquidity are not the weak links here.

IUSB 0.06% a year, a fraction of what the typical broad bond fund in its category charges, and iShares has run it since 2014.
Roughly 18,000 bonds spanning investment-grade and high-yield sectors, so one ticker covers ground a plain Agg tracker leaves on the table.ishares.com
Tracks its index closely, trades heavily, and sits on a multi-billion-dollar asset base. Income is paid monthly.
Among the strongest implementations in a crowded field of nearly 200 core bond funds.

Worth knowing

FTCB Fee is the headline trade-off: 0.56% a year, above the typical core-bond fund, while index staples like BND, SPAB and SCHZ charge 0.03%.
No declared index to measure the manager against. The shape of the portfolio is the team's call, within the investment-grade mandate.
It sits in the intermediate-term bond lane. Investment grade trims credit risk; it does nothing about the pull of interest rates.

IUSB That high-yield sleeve is the trade-off: more credit risk than an investment-grade-only fund, and more movement when spreads widen.
BND, SPAB and SCHZ charge 0.03%, half IUSB's fee, but they stay inside investment grade.
Payouts land monthly, but the amount floats with the coupons underneath. Nothing about the income stream is fixed.

Full FTCB profile⁠

Full IUSB profile⁠

FTCB vs IUSB Holdings

How FTCB and IUSB differ

No overlap figure

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues.

Level by level

Countryby domicile94.0%
Asset classFixed Income100%

Sector

No Sector split for FTCB.

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in FTCB and IUSB, widest gap first
Country	More in FTCBMore in IUSB	FTCB	IUSB
United States	FTCB +5.0 points	93.1%	88.1%
United Kingdom	IUSB +1.0 points	0.0%	1.0%
Ireland	FTCB +0.7 points	0.9%	0.2%
Japan	IUSB +0.6 points	0.0%	0.6%
Other countries (36)	IUSB +4.1 points	6.0%	10.1%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

FTCB36.5%
IUSB8.1%

Securities held

FTCB723
IUSB17,809

Asset class

FTCB: Fixed Income
IUSB: Fixed Income

Holdings

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues, so this page lists no shared Holdings. FTCB holds 723 securities, IUSB 17,809.

All 788 FTCB holdings⁠All 18,365 IUSB 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.

FTCB vs IUSB Cost

Overpaying FTCB vs IUSB

$9,818

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

FTCB 0.56%
$11,088
IUSB 0.06%
$1,270

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

FTCB 0.56%
IUSB 0.06%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	FTCB	IUSB	Overpaying
10	$1,006	$110	$896
20	$3,855	$432	$3,423
30	$11,088	$1,270	$9,818

Expense ratio

0.56%FTCB
0.06%IUSB, cheaper

IUSB0.06%FTCB0.56%

0.00%1.04%

Middle half of US Aggregate Bond funds
Median 0.34%

IUSB 10th cheapest of 114 funds

FTCB 101st cheapest of 114 funds

FTCB vs IUSB Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): FTCB 5.50%, better; IUSB 4.32%
Payout (12M): FTCB $1.11; IUSB $1.94
Last payment: FTCB $0.08; IUSB $0.15
Ex-dividend: FTCB Oct 21, 2026; IUSB Oct 1, 2026
Paid on: FTCB Oct 30, 2026; IUSB Oct 6, 2026
Frequency: FTCB Monthly; IUSB Monthly

Distribution history

Per share, 2023 to 2026, same scale for both

FTCBMonthly · 35 paymentsAll FTCB payments⁠

IUSBMonthly · 45 paymentsAll IUSB payments⁠

FTCB vs IUSB Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

This chart needs five years of history for both funds.

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: FTCB 5.6%since Dec 2023IUSB 5.5%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: FTCB 0.03since Dec 2023IUSB 0.25
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: FTCB −5.6%since Nov 2023IUSB −17.4%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: FTCB 0.16IUSB 0.96; Market = 1

FTCB and IUSB in the news

All news⁠

ETF Filings
BondBloxx registers a 0.22% core-plus bond ETF, and two funds still not for sale
Oct 21, 2026IUSB

Popular comparisons

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First Trust Core Investment Grade ETF · iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF
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iShares Core Universal USD Bond ETF · State Street SPDR Portfolio Aggregate Bond ETF
Expense ratio
0.06% · 0.03%
Category

FTCB vs IUSB

In short

Stated mandate

Why people hold it

Worth knowing

How FTCB and IUSB differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Cost over time

Year by year

Distribution history

Fall from peak · 5 years

Risk facts

BondBloxx registers a 0.22% core-plus bond ETF, and two funds still not for sale

How FTCB and IUSB differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings