FTIEX vs TLT Fund Comparison

A comparison between FTIEX and TLT based on their expense ratio, growth, holdings and how well they match their benchmark performance.

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Minafi's Take on FTIEX vs TLT

Here's an in depth look at the differences between Fidelity® Total International Equity Fund ($FTIEX) and iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF ($TLT).

To start off, here's a look at the basics of each fund. Keep an eye on the FI Score. That's a custom score from 0 to 100 that we generate based on how good this fund is for the casual investor. Most investors only need a handful of total funds in their portfolio. The higher the score, the more likely this is one of those few. Score alone isn't enough! Keep reading on to see how different (or perhaps similar) these two funds are.

26% FI Score
  • ftiex
  • Mutual Fund
  • International Stocks
  • Large Growth

Fidelity® Total International Equity Fund

Expenses: 1.19% (Better than 0% of similar funds)

This is a bad choice for a Large Growth International Stocks fund. See why »

88% FI Score
  • tlt
  • ETF
  • Bond
  • Government Bond

iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF

Expenses: 0.15% (Better than 1% of similar funds)

This is an OK choice for a Government Bond Bond fund. See why »

$FTIEX is classified as a Mutual Fund while $TLT is classified as an ETF. Even though one of these is a mutual fund and the other is an ETF, that doesn't matter too much for their holdings. Both ETFs and mutual funds are just containers to hold lots of investments inside of them.

The biggest differences between these two is where they may be offered. ETFs are more widely availble from a larger number of investment apps and websites. Mutual funds, on the other hand, are generally offered by the platform they're issued by (Fidelity funds on Fidelity, Vanguard funds on Vanguard). Usually 401(k)'s will offer both ETFs and Mutual Funds. If you're investing outside of a 401(k), I'd recommend you verify the fees associated with ETF and mutual fund transactions. Some platforms charge an additional fee to purchase a mutual fund.

To learn more about the difference between these two, you can read about the difference between ETFs and Mutual Funds.

When evaluating a fund, the first things I look at are:

  • What it invests in
  • How much it charges in fees
  • How large the fund is

Let's look into these criteria one by one and see if either of these funds stands out.

Fund Holdings Comparison

Minafi's FI Score algorithm takes into account the category and market. The more niche a fund is, the lower the score. This doesn't mean it's a worse fund, but it does mean you should stop and make sure this a fund you need to diversify your portfolio.

FTIEX TLT
Market Score 1.5 /10 9.6 /10
Category Score 8.0 /10 8.0 /10
Total 9.5 17.6

A score of 10 means this is a solid market and category that almost every investor will want to have investments in. The lower the score, the more specific the investment. These scores are based on when most investors would add these funds to their portfolio. A score of 10 means that this fund (or one like it) belongs in a three-fund portfolio. The lower the score, the farther down in your portfolio a fund would go.

Winner: $TLT

Fee Comparison

Fees are one of the biggest killers of portfolio growth. The difference between a 2% fee and a 0.04% fee over 30 years can result in your portfolio having half the total value!

If you're just getting started investing and learning how fees impact your portfolio, I'd encourage you to read through my free investment course (specifically '2.2 - All About Fees') where I go over all the different types of fees you can be charged and how to lower them.

For these two funds, FTIEX has an expense ratio of 1.19% while TLT has an expense ratio of 0.15%.

Winner: $TLT

Fund Size Comparison

One place these two funds differ is in their total assets under management. This is a good indication of how many other investors trust this fund. A large fund by itself doesn't mean it's a good fund, but it is one thing to consider when figuring out how to choose the right fund.

In the case of these two funds, FTIEX is a small fund with 85.7 Million in assets under management. TLT, on the other hand, is a large fund with 18.6 Billion in assets under management.

Winner: $TLT, iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF

Which Should You Choose? FTIEX or TLT?

Comparing these two funds isn't an apples to apples comparison. FTIEX is a International Stocks Large Growth fund, while TLT is a Bond Government Bond fund.

If you're aiming to build a diversified, low-fee, tax-optimized portfolio you likely won't be choosing between these two funds since they're different enough.

Running both of these funds through Minafi's FI Score algorithm, gives FTIEX a score of 26 and TLT a score of 88.

Winner: Neither, I'd research more funds if you're looking to invest for retirement.

$FTIEX

Fidelity® Total International Equity Fund

26

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Ratings
Rating Type Rating
Expense Ratio Score 4 /10
Expense Rating 0 /10
Market Score 2 /10
Category Score 8 /10
Overview
Overview Details
Fund Type Mutual Fund
Inception Date Nov-1-2007
Exchange NMFQS
Expense Ratio 1.190%
Net Assets 85.7 Million
Yield 1.87%
Holdings
Description Info
Market International Stocks
Category Large Growth
Sectors
  • Basic Materials 9.58%
  • Communication Services 5.12%
  • Consumer Cyclical 7.13%
  • Consumer Defensive 6.24%
  • Energy 3.89%
  • Financial Services 22.98%
  • Healthcare 10.83%
  • Industrials 14.52%
  • Real Estate 1.20%
  • Technology 17.65%
  • Utilities 0.87%
Regions
  • Africa/Middle East 2.33%
  • Asia Developed 9.92%
  • Asia Emerging 13.77%
  • Australasia 1.83%
  • Europe Developed 29.13%
  • Europe Emerging 2.34%
  • Japan 15.21%
  • Latin America 2.92%
  • North America 14.53%
  • United Kingdom 8.02%

$TLT

iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF

88

Read More
Ratings
Rating Type Rating
Expense Ratio Score 9 /10
Expense Rating 9 /10
Market Score 10 /10
Category Score 8 /10
Overview
Overview Details
Fund Type ETF
Inception Date Jul-1-2010
Exchange NASDAQ
Expense Ratio 0.150%
Net Assets 18.6 Billion
Yield 1.79%
Holdings
Description Info
Market Bond
Category Government Bond
Sectors
  • Basic Materials 0.00%
  • Communication Services 0.00%
  • Consumer Cyclicals 0.00%
  • Consumer Defensive 0.00%
  • Energy 0.00%
  • Financial Services 0.00%
  • Healthcare 0.00%
  • Industrials 0.00%
  • Real Estate 0.00%
  • Technology 0.00%
  • Utilities 0.00%

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