Vanguard Mortgage-Backed Securities ETF
$44.65+0.09 (+0.20%)
- 0.03%
- $17.6B
- −1.2%
- 4.41%
- 1.7M sh
- $44.46
- low $43.95high $47.90
The ETF.net VMBS Grade
B
Score 69 out of 100
- 4 of 25
Score 69 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.A94 out of 100Rank 1 of 25Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.C54 out of 100Rank 6 of 20Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.D33 out of 100Rank 17 of 25Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.B65 out of 100Rank 9 of 25Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.A87 out of 100Rank 1 of 25Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A92 out of 100Rank 1 of 25
Our read on VMBS
BThe plumbing of the U.S. housing market in one ticker: pooled home loans from Ginnie, Fannie and Freddie, tracked by index for 0.03% a year, with income paid monthly.
The fund seeks moderate and sustainable current income by investing primarily in U.S. agency mortgage-backed pass-through securities issued by GNMA, FNMA, and FHLMC.
Why people hold it
- 0.03% a year is the cheap end of the mortgage-bond aisle: SPMB and MBB charge 0.04%, JMTG 0.24%, and the typical peer runs far higher.
- Agency pass-throughs from GNMA, FNMA and FHLMC. Credit isn't the main variable here; rates and mortgage behavior are.investor.vanguard.com
- Trading since 2009, a multi-billion-dollar fund holding roughly 300 pools and paying monthly. Boring in the way bond ballast is supposed to be.
- Sits in the top quartile of its mortgage-bond peer group, one of the stronger builds in a crowded, look-alike category.
Worth knowing
- Mortgages don't keep a schedule. Homeowners refinance when rates fall, returning cash to reinvest at lower yields; when rates rise, payoffs slow and bonds stretch out.advisors.vanguard.com
- The mandate is current income from one slice of the bond market. No Treasuries, no corporates, no equity kicker.
- Share prices move with interest rates, so this behaves like a bond fund, not a cash parking spot.investor.vanguard.com
VMBS Holdings
- Bonds
- 4,878
- 7%
- Mktliq 12/31/2049
Geography
- United States100.00%
VMBS Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
VMBS$9,881
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 | VMBS |
|---|---|
| Year to date | −2.3% |
| 1 month | −1.3% |
| 3 months | −3.0% |
| 1 year | −1.2% |
| 3 years | +5.3% |
| 5 years | −0.1% |
| 10 years | +1.0% |
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 | VMBS |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | −2.3% | |
| 2025 | +8.4% | |
| 2024 | +1.7% | |
| 2023 | +5.3% | |
| 2022 | −12.0% | |
| 2021 | −1.3% | |
| 2020 | +3.8% |
VMBS in the news
VMBS Dividends
- 4.41%
- $1.97
- $0.16 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
VMBS Risk
- 6.3%
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.
- 0.04
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.
- −16.9%
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.
- 1.12
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
VMBS Cost
0.03%
VMBS0.03%
- The middle half of Mortgage-Backed Securities funds
- Median 0.36%
No Mortgage-Backed Securities fund charges less.
Other funds in Mortgage-Backed Securities
- ASPMBState Street SPDR Portfolio Mortgage Backed Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.04%1 year return −1.9%
- AMBBiShares MBS ETFExpense ratio 0.04%1 year return −1.6%
- BJMTGJPMorgan Mortgage-Backed Securities ETFExpense ratio 0.37%1 year return −1.2%
- BMBSDNorthern Trust Disciplined Duration MBS ETFExpense ratio 0.21%1 year return −0.7%
- BMTBASimplify MBS ETFExpense ratio 0.25%1 year return −1.3%