CAAA vs SPMB: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

First Trust AAA CMBS ETF

CAAADNYSE Arca

State Street SPDR Portfolio Mortgage Backed Bond ETF

SPMBANYSE Arca

Overlap

No data

Expense ratio

SPMB −0.42pt a year

CAAA0.46%SPMB0.04%

Avg volume · 30D

SPMB 271.8×the volume

CAAA6.02KSPMB1.64M

CAAA vs SPMB Performance

Nov 7, 2025 – Nov 9, 2026

+2.0%CAAA+0.8%SPMB

Expense ratio: CAAA 0.46%; SPMB 0.04%, better
Fund size: CAAA $35M; SPMB $7.01B
1Y total return: CAAA +2.0%, better; SPMB +0.8%
Yield (12M): CAAA 4.76%, better; SPMB 4.25%
Holdings: CAAA 116; SPMB 2779
Avg volume (30D): CAAA 6.02K sh; SPMB 1.64M sh, better
NAV per share: CAAA $19.99; SPMB $21.76
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for CAAA, SPMB, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	CAAA	SPMB
Cost30% weight	D27	A94Higher
Mission25% weight	D30	B64Higher
Risk15% weight	B56Higher	D31
Tradability15% weight	D36	A95Higher
Holdings10% weight	D39	A75Higher
Durability5% weight	D39	A83Higher

Rank among Mortgage-Backed Securities funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. CAAA and SPMB are both graded against the same 24 Mortgage-Backed Securities funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Mortgage-Backed Securities⁠

Category · 24 funds

See all 24 ›

SPMB ranks 1st and CAAA 18th of 24 funds in the Mortgage-Backed Securities Category.

Rank 1ASPMBState Street SPDR Portfolio Mortgage Backed Bond ETFScore 74
Rank 2AMBBiShares MBS ETFScore 72
Rank 17DTSECTouchstone Securitized Income ETFScore 39
Rank 18DCAAAFirst Trust AAA CMBS ETFScore 35
Rank 18DSCIOFirst Trust Structured Credit Income Opportunities ETFScore 35

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

CAAADFirst Trust AAA CMBS ETF

SPMBAState Street SPDR Portfolio Mortgage Backed Bond ETF

In short

CAAA Most mortgage-bond ETFs buy Fannie and Freddie home loans. CAAA goes commercial: an actively run book of AAA-rated bonds backed by offices, hotels and apartment buildings, bought at the top rung of the deal structure.

SPMB The no-frills way to own America's mortgage bonds. SPMB tracks the Bloomberg U.S. MBS Index for four basis points, a fraction of what the typical mortgage-bond ETF charges, and pays income monthly.

Stated mandate

CAAA The Fund seeks to maximize long-term total return.

SPMB The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Bloomberg U.S. MBS Index.

Why people hold it

CAAA Owns the AAA slice of non-agency commercial mortgage deals (conduit, single-asset single-borrower, CRE CLO), the senior rung with the first claim on interest and principal.ftportfolios.com
Actively managed rather than index-replicating: at least 80% of net assets in CMBS rated AAA at purchase, with the strategy built around the AAA tier of the capital structure.ftportfolios.com ftportfolios.com 2
Charges 0.30% a year, below the median fee for mortgage-bond ETFs, and distributes monthly.

SPMB Four basis points a year, against a 0.35% median for mortgage-bond ETFs. Cost is where this fund does its loudest talking.
Runs the same Bloomberg U.S. MBS Index as iShares' MBB at the same 0.04% fee, and undercuts MBBA, which tracks that index for far more.
Roughly 2,700 mortgage bonds in a single line item, inside a multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, with distributions paid monthly.
Trading since 2009, and one of the strongest implementations in its mortgage-bond peer group.

Worth knowing

CAAA Agency-mortgage index funds cost a fraction of this (VMBS 0.03%, MBB 0.04%). The 0.30% buys active management and commercial, non-agency collateral instead of home-loan pools.
Thinly traded next to the big agency mortgage funds, so bid-ask spreads can run wider.
Launched in 2024, non-diversified, and concentrated in roughly 50 positions, all tied to commercial property credit. Short history, narrow book.ftportfolios.com

SPMB Homeowners refinance when rates fall, so mortgage bonds get paid back early and rally less than Treasuries. That quirk is built into the index, not the fund.
Prices move with interest rates and the monthly payout floats with the portfolio. This is a bond fund, not a cash substitute.
US mortgages only. No Treasuries, no corporates, no credit spice. A building block for a bond sleeve rather than the whole sleeve.

Full CAAA profile⁠

Full SPMB profile⁠

CAAA vs SPMB Holdings

How CAAA and SPMB differ

No overlap figure

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues.

Level by level

Sector2 Sectors73.2%
Asset classBonds100%
Countryby domicile100%

Sector

Sector weights in CAAA and SPMB, widest gap first
Sector	More in CAAAMore in SPMB	Gap	CAAA	SPMB
Securitized		SPMB +26.8 points	73.2%	100.0%
Government		CAAA +26.8 points	26.8%	0.0%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in CAAA and SPMB, widest gap first
Country	More in CAAAMore in SPMB	Gap	CAAA	SPMB
United States		Same weight	100.0%	100.0%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

CAAA34.6%
SPMB10.6%

Securities held

CAAA114
SPMB2,778

Asset class

CAAA: Bonds
SPMB: Bonds

Holdings

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues, so this page lists no shared Holdings. CAAA holds 114 securities, SPMB 2,778.

All 111 CAAA holdings⁠All 2,796 SPMB holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

CAAA vs SPMB Cost

Overpaying CAAA vs SPMB

$8,381

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

CAAA 0.46%
$9,230
SPMB 0.04%
$849

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

CAAA 0.46%
SPMB 0.04%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	CAAA	SPMB	Overpaying
10	$830	$73	$757
20	$3,195	$288	$2,907
30	$9,230	$849	$8,381

Expense ratio

0.46%CAAA
0.04%SPMB, cheaper

SPMB0.04%CAAA0.46%

0.03%0.86%

Middle half of Mortgage-Backed Securities funds
Median 0.38%

SPMB 3rd cheapest of 24 funds

CAAA 17th cheapest of 24 funds

CAAA vs SPMB Dividends

Last 12 months to Nov 9, 2026

Yield (12M): CAAA 4.76%, better; SPMB 4.25%
Payout (12M): CAAA $0.95; SPMB $0.92
Last payment: CAAA $0.07; SPMB $0.07
Ex-dividend: CAAA Oct 21, 2026; SPMB Nov 2, 2026
Paid on: CAAA Oct 30, 2026; SPMB Nov 5, 2026
Frequency: CAAA Monthly; SPMB Monthly

Distribution history

Per share, 2023 to 2026, same scale for both

CAAAMonthly · 31 paymentsAll CAAA payments⁠

SPMBMonthly · 46 paymentsAll SPMB payments⁠

CAAA vs SPMB Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

This chart needs five years of history for both funds.

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: CAAA 3.3%since Mar 2024SPMB 6.5%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: CAAA 0.15since Mar 2024SPMB 0.28
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: CAAA −2.3%since Feb 2024SPMB −16.9%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: CAAA 0.11SPMB 1.15; Market = 1

Popular comparisons

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First Trust AAA CMBS ETF · iShares MBS ETF
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