Category Review
Municipal bond funds are down for the year after a third-quarter selloff erased the first-half gain
Bluemonte Core Bond ETF
$24.24+0.04 (+0.16%)
- 0.28%
- $486M
- −1.9%
- 4.08%
- 0.1M sh
- $24.20
- low $22.80high $25.88
The ETF.net BDBT Grade
B
Score 64 out of 100
- 50 of 117
Score 64 of 100 falls in the B band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.
Cost
The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.B60 out of 100Rank 43 of 117Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A100 out of 100Rank 1 of 101Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.C50 out of 100Rank 39 of 116Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.B58 out of 100Rank 38 of 117Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.D33 out of 100Rank 98 of 116Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.C45 out of 100Rank 73 of 117
Our read on BDBT
BActive bond management without the active-management sticker price. BDBT charges 0.25%, keeps at least 80% of assets in bond exposure, and pays monthly. A 2025 newcomer paddling among index-fund whales.
The Fund seeks total return and income. It is actively managed and normally invests at least 80% of net assets, including investment borrowings, in investments providing exposure to bonds.
Why people hold it
- 0.25% a year, below the typical fee in its aggregate-bond peer group. Cheap is rare territory for a fund where humans, not an index, pick the bonds.
- Genuinely active: managers choose the bonds and set duration and sector tilts, rather than mirroring a benchmark's holdings.
- Pays monthly, matching its stated aim of total return and income, and the portfolio has stayed tightly inside that bond mandate.
- Not a shell fund. It pulled in real assets soon after its June 2025 launch, unusual for a boutique issuer in a category owned by the giants.
Worth knowing
- The index workhorses in this cohort (BND, SPAB, SCHZ) charge 0.03%. BDBT costs several times that, and the manager's calls have to earn the difference.
- Launched in June 2025, so there's no full rate cycle on the record yet. Judging an active bond desk takes longer than judging an index tracker.
- It trades lightly compared with the category's household names, so the gap between market price and underlying value can widen. Order type matters.
BDBT Holdings
- Bonds
- 7
- 100%
- SCHR
Sectors
- Financials100.0%
Geography
- United States100.00%
BDBT Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
Not enough history yet.Not enough history yet.Not enough history yet.
BDBT$9,815
Returns run to the Oct 12, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
| Period | BDBT |
|---|---|
| Year to date | −2.3% |
| 1 month | −0.8% |
| 3 months | −2.3% |
| 1 year | −1.9% |
| 3 years | — |
| 5 years | — |
| 10 years | — |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | BDBT |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | −2.3% | |
| 2025 | +3.7% |
BDBT in the news
BDBT Dividends
- 4.08%
- $0.99
- $0.08 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
BDBT Risk
- 3.7%
How it’s calculated: standard deviation
The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.
- −0.97
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio
Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.
Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.
- −4.4%
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown
The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.
Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.
- 0.08
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
BDBT Cost
0.28%
BDBT0.28%
- The middle half of US Aggregate Bond funds
- Median 0.34%
41 of the 113 US Aggregate Bond funds charge less.
Other funds in US Aggregate Bond
- BGBNDGoldman Sachs Core Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.26%1 year return −2.0%
- BPABPGIM Active Aggregate Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.19%1 year return −1.9%
- BHCRBHartford Core Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.29%1 year return −2.3%
- BJCPBJPMorgan Core Plus Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.40%1 year return −1.2%
- BJSCPJPMorgan Short Duration Core Plus ETFExpense ratio 0.33%1 year return +1.2%