Fidelity Limited Term Bond ETF

Fidelity Limited Term Bond ETF (FLTB) is an actively managed fund of short- and intermediate-term bonds, mostly from companies. It can put up to 30% of its assets in high-yield "junk" bonds and also buys emerging-markets debt. That wider reach sets it apart from index-tracking short-term corporate bond funds such as IGSB and VCSH. However, its 0.25% expense ratio is far higher than their 0.03% to 0.04%.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, FLTB returned +1.2%, 5th of 8 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +2.4% and its 10-year +2.4%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 8.2% and regained its old high 2.4 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-5.9%); its best was 2025 (+6.6%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 9.3% (Feb 11, 2021 to Oct 20, 2022), recovered by Jun 6, 2024.

As of Aug 31, 2026, the fund held 1,068 securities; the ten largest made up 14.74% of assets.

The bonds mature in 4.6 years on average (weighted by size), with an average coupon of 4.88%.

• Over the three months to Aug 31, 2026, investors added a net $54.9M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +0.16%, -0.13%, +0.32%.

FLTB is not an index fund. Fidelity's managers choose the bonds themselves. They use the Fidelity Limited Term Composite Index as a guide for how much to hold in investment-grade bonds (issuers rated as more likely to repay) and how much in high-yield bonds. At least 80% of assets go into debt securities. These include corporate bonds, Treasuries, mortgage-backed securities, loans and collateralized loan obligations (CLOs), which are pools of corporate loans split into slices with different levels of risk. Up to 30% can be below investment grade, and the fund can buy foreign and emerging-markets bonds.

The managers keep the portfolio's average maturity between two and five years, weighted by dollars invested. They aim for about the same sensitivity to interest rates as the index. As of August 31, 2026, the fund held 1,068 securities with an average of 4.6 years to maturity. Companies made up 85.6% of the portfolio and US Treasuries 11.3%. The largest single holding was a 3.625% Treasury note due August 2029, at 6.6% of the fund. Corporate bonds such as GA Global Funding Trust, Petróleos Mexicanos and Pinnacle West were each about 0.5%.

The fund may use swaps, options and futures to adjust its risk, and these can have a leveraging effect. Turnover was 77%. The fund may also create and redeem shares for cash, which can make it less tax-efficient than some other ETFs.

• FLTB charges 0.25% a year, versus an average of 0.08% for the similar funds below (8th of 8, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $26 in the first year and $318 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It holds short-maturity bonds and has had low volatility and shallow losses, though some of its holdings are lower-quality bonds.

FLTB could serve as a steadier bond holding that offsets the ups and downs of stocks. Its losses have been modest but not trivial. In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 8.2% between March 5 and March 18, 2020, and had recovered by May 29. In the 2022 bear market it dropped 7.5% and did not regain its high until January 12, 2024. Its deepest decline was 9.3%, from February 2021 to October 2022, and recovery took about 19.5 months. Its worst calendar year was 2022, at -5.9%. It launched in 2014, so it has no 2008 record. A retiree who had to sell in 2022 would have sold at a loss. The trailing 12-month yield was 4.46% as of October 27, 2026, paid monthly. Its 0.25% expense ratio compares with a 0.08% average for similar funds. Past results don't predict future ones, 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).