Fidelity Total Bond ETF

Fidelity Total Bond ETF (FBND) is an actively managed fund holding US Treasuries, mortgage-backed securities and corporate bonds, with room for up to 20% in high-yield, or junk, bonds. Its managers aim for interest rate risk similar to the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index while seeking a high level of income; the 12-month yield was 5.25% as of October 29, 2026. It charges 0.36% a year, above the 0.23% average for similar funds.

• Over the year to Nov 2, 2026, FBND returned -0.2%, 2nd of 8 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +0.5% and its 10-year +2.2%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 16.1% and regained its old high 2.3 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-12.5%); its best was 2019 (+9.8%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 17.2% (Sep 14, 2021 to Oct 20, 2022), recovered by Sep 4, 2025.

As of Aug 31, 2026, the fund held 4,681 securities; the ten largest made up 16.45% of assets, and 3.36% sat in cash and money-market holdings.

The bonds mature in 14.4 years on average (weighted by size), with an average coupon of 4.59%.

• Over the three months to Aug 31, 2026, investors added a net $2.57B (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +0.31%, -1.28%, +0.40%.

FBND does not track an index. Fidelity's managers choose the bonds, aiming for a high level of income. They normally keep at least 80% of assets in debt securities, spread across investment-grade (higher-rated), high-yield and emerging-markets debt. High-yield, or junk, bonds are capped at 20%. Choices weigh each issuer's credit quality, currency and economic risks, and valuation. The main limit: overall interest rate risk is kept similar to that of the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index.

As of August 31, 2026, the fund had 4,681 holdings, and the 10 largest made up 16.5% of assets. Most were US Treasury notes and bonds, led by a 4.375% note due 2036 at 2.7%; the rest were Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae mortgage pools purchased as TBAs ("to be announced"), for future delivery. About 10.4% sat in CLOs and CDOs, which bundle loans or bonds into one security.

Turnover was 157%, meaning the fund traded more than the value of its whole portfolio over a year, which can raise trading costs and capital gains. It also uses derivatives (contracts tied to other assets' prices), such as swaps and futures, and forward-settling trades like TBAs. These can have a leveraging effect: its debt holdings equaled 106% of net assets as of August 31, 2026. It is not a daily-reset leveraged ETF.

• FBND charges 0.36% a year, versus an average of 0.17% for the similar funds below (7th of 8, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $37 in the first year and $456 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It spreads money across thousands of Treasury, mortgage and corporate bonds, with interest rate risk kept near that of the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, so it could anchor a bond allocation.

FBND could supply monthly income: its 12-month yield was 5.25% as of October 29, 2026. But its price can fall sharply. In the 2020 COVID sell-off it dropped 16.1% between March 6 and March 18, though it recovered by May 27, 2020. In 2022 it lost 12.7%, its worst calendar year. Its deepest drop, 17.2% from September 2021 to October 2022, took 34.5 months to recover, until September 2025. Anyone cashing out shares for spending in that stretch did so below the earlier peak. The fund launched in 2014, after the 2008 crisis.

FBND's expense ratio (its annual fee) of 0.36% is above the 0.23% average for similar funds; in the SEC's standard $10,000 example, that comes to $37 in the first year and $456 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).