ETF Education Report: WisdomTree Bianco Total Return Fund (WTBN)

What this ETF is trying to do

The WisdomTree Bianco Total Return Fund (WTBN) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). Based on its top holdings, this fund focuses on various types of bonds, including mortgage-backed securities (MBS), Treasury bonds, and corporate bonds.

Top Holdings:

• iShares MBS ETF (16.57%)

• Simplify MBS ETF (16.54%)

• iShares 0-5 Year TIPS Bond ETF (15.27%)

• iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF (8.41%)

• iShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond ETF (8.30%)

• Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corp Bond ETF (7.35%)

• Schwab Long-Term US Treasury ETF (7.07%)

• WisdomTree Bloomberg US Dllr Bullish ETF (5.30%)

• iShares BBB Rated Corporate Bond ETF (5.01%)

• Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bd ETF (4.66%)

*Note: Holdings can change over time.*

What the numbers show

It is important to understand that "price return" and "total return" are different. Price return only tracks the change in the share price. Total return includes both the share price change and any distributions (cash payments) made to investors.

• Current Price: $24.02

• Estimated price from roughly one year ago: $25.69

Year-to-Date (YTD) Performance:

• The YTD price return is approximately -5.64%.

• The YTD total return is approximately -3.33%.

One-Year Performance:

• The one-year price return is approximately -6.52%.

• The one-year total return is approximately -2.71%.

Income and distribution explanation

This ETF provides cash distributions to investors. The distribution yield is approximately 4.21%. These payments usually happen monthly, with 12 payments recorded over the last year.

While distributions provide cash income, they are not the same as total return. A high yield does not guarantee that an investor will make money overall, especially if the share price is falling.

NAV erosion explanation

"NAV erosion" refers to a decline in the Net Asset Value (the actual value of the assets held by the fund). While a falling market price is a "share-price decline," it does not always mean the NAV has declined.

For this ETF, the erosion-risk score is 75, which is labeled as "Mild price erosion." This is a measurement of risk rather than a confirmed fact of total value loss. There is no severe erosion-risk flag for this fund.

Pros

• The fund provides regular monthly cash distributions.

• It offers exposure to a wide variety of bond types through its top holdings.

Cons

• The fund has experienced both share-price declines and negative total returns over the last year.

• The income rating grade is a "D."

Beginner takeaway

When looking at an ETF like WTBN, remember that the cash you receive (the yield) is only one part of the story. You must also look at the price return to see if the value of your shares is going up or down. In this case, both the share price and the total return have been negative over the past year.