--- title: "Opes Wealth Sells Its Entire FIXD Stake -- Is This $9.3 Million Bond ETF Exit A Signal?" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/284583322.md" description: "Opes Wealth Management has completely exited its position in the First Trust Smith Opportunistic Fixed Income ETF (FIXD), selling 210,085 shares valued at approximately $9.3 million in Q1 2026. This sale reduced FIXD's representation in Opes' assets under management to 0%, down from 1.5% in the previous quarter. The move reflects a strategic shift towards equities, particularly as fixed income struggles in a high-interest rate environment. Despite this exit, FIXD's 4.6% annualized dividend yield remains appealing for income-focused investors." datetime: "2026-04-29T13:25:19.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/284583322.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/284583322.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/284583322.md) --- # Opes Wealth Sells Its Entire FIXD Stake -- Is This $9.3 Million Bond ETF Exit A Signal? ## Key Points - Opes Wealth Management fully exited its position in the First Trust Smith Opportunistic Fixed Income ETF (FIXD) during the first quarter of 2026. - Opes sold 210,085 shares at an estimated trade value of $9.3 million, based on quarterly average pricing. - After the sale, FIXD now represents 0% of Opes' assets under management (AUM). - 10 stocks we like better than First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII - First Trust Smith Opportunistic Fixed Income ETF › ## What happened According to a recent SEC filing, Opes Wealth Management LLC sold its entire position in **First Trust Smith Opportunistic Fixed Income ETF** (NASDAQ:FIXD), reducing its holdings by 210,085 shares during the first quarter of 2026. The estimated value of the trade was $9.3 million, based on quarterly average pricing. ## What else to know - Opes Wealth Management LLC fully exited FIXD, leaving the ETF at 0% of its 13F AUM post-trade, down from 1.5% the prior quarter. - Top holdings after the filing: - NASDAQ: AAPL: $92.41 million (15.8% of AUM) - NYSEMKT: FNDF: $34.93 million (6.0% of AUM) - NYSEMKT: CMF: $26.61 million (4.5% of AUM) - NASDAQ: GILD: $23.64 million (4.0% of AUM) - NYSEMKT: FNDB: $20.26 million (3.5% of AUM) - As of April 27, 2026, FIXD shares were trading at $43.73, up about 5% over the past year, trailing the S&P 500 by roughly 24 percentage points ## ETF overview Metric Value AUM $3.4 billion Expense ratio 0.65% Dividend yield 4.64% 1-year return (as of 4/27/26) 5.23% ## ETF snapshot The First Trust Smith Opportunistic Fixed Income ETF (FIXD) is a large-scale bond fund with $3.4 billion in assets under management. - Seeks to maximize long-term total return by investing at least 80% of assets in fixed income securities. - Emphasizes flexibility in sector allocation and duration positioning, aiming to capture income and capital appreciation opportunities across the bond market. - Targets both institutional and retail investors seeking diversified bond exposure paired with a competitive dividend yield. ## What this transaction means for investors When a fund fully exits a position, it can feel more dramatic than it is -- especially when that position represented just 1.5% of the portfolio to begin with. Context, as always, matters. Fixed income has faced a challenging environment as interest rates remain elevated, and FIXD's 5.2% one-year return -- while positive -- has badly lagged the broader equity market. For a wealth manager like Opes, which now holds **Apple** (NASDAQ:AAPL) at nearly 16% of its portfolio, this sell suggests a continued conviction in equities over bonds at this stage of the market cycle. That said, investors shouldn't read this as a blanket indictment of fixed income. FIXD's 4.6% annualized dividend yield remains genuinely attractive for income-focused investors, particularly those seeking to reduce equity risk or generate steady cash flow. The fund's flexible, multi-sector bond approach also gives it tools to adapt as the rate environment evolves. For retail investors watching institutional moves, the key takeaway here is context: Opes Wealth runs a heavily equity-oriented book, so shedding a small fixed-income position looks less like a warning and more like a portfolio that was already leaning towards growth -- and simply decided to lean further in that direction. Bottom line: The broader fixed income market has had a tough run against equities, and Opes Wealth's decision to exit FIXD looks like one more data point in that story. ## Should you buy stock in First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII - First Trust Smith Opportunistic Fixed Income ETF right now? Before you buy stock in First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII - First Trust Smith Opportunistic Fixed Income ETF, consider this: The _Motley Fool Stock Advisor_ analyst team just identified what they believe are the **10 best stocks** for investors to buy now… and First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII - First Trust Smith Opportunistic Fixed Income ETF wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when **Netflix** made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, **you’d have $492,752**!\* Or when **Nvidia** made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, **you’d have $1,327,935**!\* Now, it’s worth noting _Stock Advisor’s_ total average return is 991% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 201% for the S&P 500. **Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with _Stock Advisor_, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.** See the 10 stocks » _\*Stock Advisor returns as of April 29, 2026._ _Andy Gould has positions in Apple. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple and Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy._ The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. ### Related Stocks - [FIXD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/FIXD.US.md) - [AAPL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/AAPL.US.md) - [FNDF.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/FNDF.US.md) - [CMF.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/CMF.US.md) - [GILD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GILD.US.md) - [FNDB.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/FNDB.US.md) - [.SPX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/.SPX.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [Lido Advisors Adds $76 Million to BSCR Stake, Making the Bond ETF Its Second-Largest Holding](https://longbridge.com/en/news/287092182.md) - [Worried About a Market Crash? 3 Vanguard ETFs Built to Survive](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286880525.md) - [$100 Invested In iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF 20 Years Ago Would Be Worth This Much Today](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286800978.md) - [New Core Equity ETF Drops As Low-Cost Active Funds Become Wall Street's New Obsession](https://longbridge.com/en/news/287253853.md) - [$1000 Invested In Vanguard S&P 500 Growth ETF 15 Years Ago Would Be Worth This Much Today](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286797286.md)