AB Core Plus Bond ETF

AB Core Plus Bond ETF (CPLS) is an actively managed bond fund. It holds a mix of U.S. Treasuries and corporate bonds and can add some mortgage-backed debt, foreign debt and up to 15% in junk bonds. It does not track an index. Instead, it picks bonds with a computer-driven scoring model. Its 0.30% expense ratio is ten times the 0.03% charged by large bond index funds such as BND and AGG.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, CPLS returned -1.9%, 8th of 8 among similar funds.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2024 (+1.6%); its best was 2025 (+6.9%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 5.2% (Feb 27, 2026 to Oct 1, 2026), not yet recovered.

As of Aug 31, 2026, the fund held 813 securities; the ten largest made up 28.67% of assets, and 3.35% sat in cash and money-market holdings.

The bonds mature in 10.5 years on average (weighted by size), with an average coupon of 4.6%.

• Over the three months to Aug 31, 2026, investors withdrew a net $6.9M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +0.17%, -1.42%, +0.42%.

CPLS has no index to follow. Its adviser must keep at least 80% of net assets in fixed-income securities. It can buy corporate bonds, U.S. government and agency debt, mortgage- and asset-backed securities, and U.S.-dollar bonds from foreign issuers, including emerging markets. Up to 15% may go into bonds rated below investment grade, often called junk bonds. There is no set limit on maturity or duration. Duration measures how much a bond's price reacts to changes in interest rates.

Bonds are chosen by a systematic process. The adviser's models score each bond on many factors, grouped into six categories: value, momentum, size, quality, carry (the income a bond earns) and volatility. The adviser then builds the portfolio from those scores while keeping an eye on credit quality and interest-rate sensitivity. The fund trades a lot. Its turnover was 114%, which means it replaced about the whole portfolio in a year.

As of August 31, 2026, the fund had 813 holdings. U.S. Treasuries made up 43.2% of assets and company bonds 49.07%. Its ten largest positions were all Treasury notes and bonds, adding up to 28.67%. The average maturity was 10.5 years. The fund may also use leverage and derivatives. On that date it held six Treasury futures positions, worth a net of about -0.04% of assets.

• CPLS charges 0.3% a year, versus an average of 0.1% for the similar funds below (7th of 8, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $31 in the first year and $381 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

Its mix of Treasuries and investment-grade-style corporate debt is close to that of broad bond index funds, so it could fill the bond slot in a portfolio.

CPLS could serve as the main bond fund in a portfolio. Its track record is short. It launched in December 2023, so it did not exist during the 2008, 2020 or 2022 downturns. Its weakest calendar year was 2024, with a gain of 1.76%. Its deepest drop was 5.2%, from February 27 to October 1, 2026, and it had not recovered as of October 27, 2026. Anyone who sold shares for spending money during that drop would have locked in a loss.

The fund's trailing 12-month yield was 4.81% as of October 27, 2026, and it pays income monthly. It costs more than index peers. Under the SEC's standard example, expenses on $10,000 come to $381 over 10 years. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by bond funds with the closest average maturity and issuer mix (N-PORT).