VictoryShares Core Plus Intermediate Bond ETF

VictoryShares Core Plus Intermediate Bond ETF (UBND) is an actively managed bond fund from Victory Capital. It holds mostly investment-grade U.S. mortgage-backed securities, corporate bonds and Treasurys, and it can put up to 20% in high-yield bonds. Its 0.40% expense ratio is far above the 0.03% that AGG and BND charge. Its 3-year annualized return of 5.9% (as of October 27, 2026) ranked 2nd of eight similar funds.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, UBND returned -0.7%, 5th of 8 among similar funds.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2024 (+3.1%); its best was 2025 (+7.8%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 13.5% (Mar 11, 2022 to Oct 24, 2022), recovered by Aug 1, 2024.

As of Jun 30, 2026, the fund held 1,529 securities; the ten largest made up 12.27% of assets.

The bonds mature in 15.5 years on average (weighted by size), with an average coupon of 5.07%.

• Over the three months to Jun 30, 2026, investors added a net $130.5M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +0.30%, +0.32%, +0.36%.

UBND does not track an index. Victory Capital's managers pick the bonds, aiming for "high current income without undue risk to principal." At least 80% of assets go into debt securities. The fund keeps its effective duration within about two years of the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, a standard benchmark for U.S. investment-grade bonds. Duration measures how much a bond's price reacts when interest rates change. Corporate bonds can make up as much as 65% of the fund. Up to 20% can go into below-investment-grade ("junk") bonds, and another 20% into U.S. dollar bonds from foreign and emerging-market issuers.

The managers use their own credit-rating models to give each bond an internal rating, then review it while the fund holds it. They also do relative value trading, which means moving money between sectors, credit ratings and issuers when they think prices are off. That helps explain the 73% portfolio turnover. The fund uses U.S. Treasury futures to adjust duration. As of June 30, 2026, it held three of these contracts, worth about 0.05% of assets.

As of June 30, 2026, the fund held 1,529 securities. The top ten made up 12.27% of assets, and the largest single holding was a U.S. Treasury bond at 2.2%. About 54% was in mortgage- and asset-backed securities, 44% in bonds and notes, and 2% in loans. The average maturity was 15.5 years.

• UBND charges 0.4% a year, versus an average of 0.15% for the similar funds below (8th of 8, cheapest first).
• Of that, 0.35% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
• The fee includes a 0.03% waiver from the adviser, which may end.
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $41 in the first year and $539 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It is a broad, mostly investment-grade bond fund that keeps its interest-rate sensitivity close to the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, so it could serve as the main bond holding.

UBND pays income monthly. Its trailing 12-month yield was 5.05% as of October 27, 2026, or $1.06 per share. The fund launched in October 2021, so it has no record in the 2008 or 2020 crashes. It did go through the 2022 rate shock, losing 12.55% that year. In price data starting March 11, 2022, it fell 13.5% by October 24, 2022 and took about 21 months to recover, on August 1, 2024. Someone taking money out of the fund during a year like 2022 would have locked in those losses.

Cost matters here. At 0.40% a year, the SEC's standard example puts costs at $539 over 10 years on $10,000, compared with 0.03% for AGG and BND. Past results don't predict future returns, 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).