Category Review
Municipal bond funds are down for the year after a third-quarter selloff erased the first-half gain
Vident U.S. Bond Strategy ETF
$41.78+0.06 (+0.14%)
- 0.41%
- $517M
- −2.0%
- 4.56%
- 0M sh
- $41.66
- low $41.34high $45.25
The ETF.net VBND Grade
C
Score 51 out of 100
- 80 of 117
Score 51 of 100 falls in the C 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.D31 out of 100Rank 81 of 117Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A86 out of 100Rank 78 of 101Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.C45 out of 100Rank 73 of 116Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.C49 out of 100Rank 61 of 117Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.D39 out of 100Rank 90 of 116Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.B58 out of 100Rank 54 of 117
Our read on VBND
CAn actively managed core bond fund that refuses to clone the Agg. Vident bolts high yield, TIPS, dollar-denominated foreign bonds and private credit onto a US investment-grade core, steered by its own governance-and-value scoring. Running since 2014.
The Fund seeks current income and long-term capital appreciation.
Why people hold it
- Core-plus with a real 'plus': the mandate allows high yield corporates, TIPS, private credit and dollar-denominated international bonds around a US investment-grade core, within stated limits.
- Vident applies its own scorecard rather than hunches: international bonds are drawn only from countries in the top half of its Country Opportunity Score.videntam.com
- Pays income monthly and has been trading since 2014, so there is a decade-plus of live operating history behind the strategy, not a backtest.
Worth knowing
- At 0.41% it costs real money beside index core-bond giants like BND, SPAB and SCHZ at 0.03%. The active sleeves carry the job of justifying that gap.
- High yield and private credit exposure brings credit and liquidity risk a plain aggregate-bond tracker does not carry.
- Thinly traded for its category, so bid-ask spreads and fill quality matter more here than with the mega-sized bond funds.
VBND Holdings
- Bonds
- 180
- 28%
- U.S. Bank Money Market Deposit Account 06/01/2031
VBND Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
VBND$9,804
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 | VBND |
|---|---|
| Year to date | −2.5% |
| 1 month | −1.3% |
| 3 months | −2.7% |
| 1 year | −2.0% |
| 3 years | +4.7% |
| 5 years | −0.3% |
| 10 years | +1.1% |
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 | VBND |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | −2.5% | |
| 2025 | +7.3% | |
| 2024 | +1.3% | |
| 2023 | +8.2% | |
| 2022 | −14.2% | |
| 2021 | −0.4% | |
| 2020 | +5.4% |
VBND in the news
VBND Dividends
- 4.56%
- $1.90
- $0.17 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
VBND Risk
- 5.5%
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.
- −0.03
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.
- −18.6%
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.
- 0.97
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
VBND Cost
0.41%
VBND0.41%
- The middle half of US Aggregate Bond funds
- Median 0.34%
77 of the 113 US Aggregate Bond funds charge less.
Other funds in US Aggregate Bond
- CCRUXColumbia Core Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.32%1 year return —
- COACPOneAscent Core Plus Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.74%1 year return −2.0%
- CBNDCNorthern Trust Core Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.49%1 year return −2.4%
- CFIXDFirst Trust Smith Opportunistic Fixed Income ETFExpense ratio 0.65%1 year return −2.5%
- CFIXTTCW Core Plus Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.40%1 year return −1.9%