Category Review
Municipal bond funds are down for the year after a third-quarter selloff erased the first-half gain
Dimensional - National Municipal Bond ETF
$46.41+0.18 (+0.40%)
- 0.18%
- $2.2B
- −1.1%
- 3.07%
- 0.3M sh
- $46.22
- low $45.70high $48.87
The ETF.net DFNM Grade
A
Score 78 out of 100
- 10 of 63
Score 78 of 100 falls in the A 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.A82 out of 100Rank 11 of 63Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A79 out of 100Rank 44 of 59Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.B61 out of 100Rank 15 of 63Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.A84 out of 100Rank 5 of 63Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.A87 out of 100Rank 6 of 63Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A71 out of 100Rank 17 of 63
Our read on DFNM
AMost muni funds pick a maturity lane and park there. DFNM is actively run: it leans into longer bonds only when they pay a term premium, and stays shorter when they don't, inside a broad investment-grade, federally tax-exempt universe.
The fund seeks current income expected to be exempt from federal income tax.
Why people hold it
- Charges 0.18% a year against a 0.30% typical cost for national muni funds, and that buys an active mandate rather than straight index tracking.sec.gov
- Duration flexes around the S&P Intermediate Term National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index: managers go longer when the expected term premium justifies it, shorter when it doesn't.sec.gov
- Roughly 1,000 investment-grade muni positions, with at least 80% of assets in bonds paying federally tax-exempt interest. Income is paid monthly.sec.gov
- Portfolio construction and mandate discipline rank it among the strongest builds in the national muni group.
Worth knowing
- Index-tracking rivals VTEB, SCMB and MUB run at 0.03% to 0.05%. You are paying several times that for the active duration call.
- It anchors to an intermediate-term muni benchmark, so the share price reacts to rate moves more than a short-maturity muni fund would.sec.gov
- The tax break is federal. State and local income taxes can still apply depending on where you live.dimensional.com
DFNM Holdings
- Bonds
- 1,183
- 8%
- Cash and Cash Equivalents
Geography
- United States100.00%
DFNM 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.
DFNM$9,893
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 | DFNM |
|---|---|
| Year to date | −2.1% |
| 1 month | −1.2% |
| 3 months | −3.4% |
| 1 year | −1.1% |
| 3 years | +2.6% |
| 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 | DFNM |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | −2.1% | |
| 2025 | +3.9% | |
| 2024 | +1.2% | |
| 2023 | +4.0% | |
| 2022 | −4.0% | |
| 2021 | +0.5% |
DFNM in the news
DFNM Dividends
- 3.07%
- $1.42
- $0.13 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
DFNM 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.
- −0.52
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.
- −7.0%
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.
- 0.58
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
DFNM Cost
0.18%
DFNM0.18%
- The middle half of Other Municipal Bond funds
- Median 0.30%
10 of the 63 Other Municipal Bond funds charge less.
Other funds in Other Municipal Bond
- ATAXTNorthern Trust Tax-Exempt Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.05%1 year return −0.7%
- AJMUBJPMorgan Municipal ETFExpense ratio 0.18%1 year return −2.1%
- AGMUBGoldman Sachs Municipal Income ETFExpense ratio 0.18%1 year return −0.5%
- ATAXFAmerican Century Diversified Municipal Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.25%1 year return −1.9%
- ACGMUCapital Group Municipal Income ETFExpense ratio 0.27%1 year return −1.2%