Fidelity Total Bond ETF

FBND

Market cap $25.4B

Fidelity Total Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:FBND) pays income every single month, holds roughly $25 billion in assets, and carries an expense ratio of just 0.36%.

For the full year, the Fidelity Total Bond ETF - NAV Return was 7.58%, compared to 7.30% for the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The U.S. Federal Reserve followed through with additional policy rate reductions in October and December, bringing the federal funds rate down to a target range of 3.5% to 3.75%. Versus the Aggregate index, the ETF was overweight risk assets at year-end, with a tilt toward short- and intermediate-term investment-grade corporate credit and high-yield securities.

Throughout 2025, some of the most popular income products in the market weren't traditional dividend funds.

CDs offer fixed income up to maturity, and some banks let you lock in high interest rates for multiple years.

Target-date funds gradually shift more resources from stocks to bonds over time. These funds aim to reduce an investor's risk as they get closer to the target retirement year.

Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, joined Nate Geraci on this week's ETF Prime to discuss five emerging flow trends as the ETF industry tracks toward $1.8 trillion in inflows for 2026. The industry pulled in roughly $150 billion in January, building on the record $1.5 trillion gathered in 2025.

After a record $1.5 trillion year for the ETF industry in 2025, demand has not slowed down in January. Indeed, as of January 21, ETFs had already gathered $103 billion of new money.

VGIT offers a much lower expense ratio, while FBND delivers a higher dividend yield FBND holds a broader, more diversified bond portfolio but has experienced a slightly deeper five-year drawdown VGIT is larger by assets under management and invests primarily in U.S. Treasury bonds. We're bullish on these 10 stocks ›

Fidelity's FBND ETF has greater exposure to riskier bonds, which may offer higher yields but come with greater volatility. Vanguard's BND ETF has over three times as many holdings and offers greater price stability.

FBND offers a higher dividend yield but comes with a steeper expense ratio than IEI. FBND holds a much broader mix of sectors, while IEI sticks exclusively to Treasuries.