CPLB vs GRNB

CPLBBNYLI MacKay Core Plus Bond ETF

GRNBAVanEck Green Bond ETF

In short

CPLB Born in 2021 as an ESG bond fund, CPLB dropped the screens in December 2024 and came back as a plain actively managed core plus bond ETF from MacKay Shields, at 0.30% net of a waiver through August 28, 2027.

GRNB Its peer group is stacked with total-bond-market giants. GRNB goes narrow instead: only dollar-denominated green bonds funding environmental projects, issued worldwide by governments, supranationals and companies. A 2017-vintage specialist at 0.20%.

Stated mandate

CPLB The Fund seeks total return.

GRNB The fund seeks to track the S&P Green Bond U.S. Dollar Select Index before fees and expenses. The index covers U.S.-dollar-denominated green bonds financing environmentally friendly projects and issued globally by supranational, government, and corporate entities.

Why people hold it

• CPLB 0.30% net of a waiver through August 28, 2027, below the category median and under Fidelity's FBND at 0.36%.sec.gov
• No index to hug: MacKay Shields' multi-sector and high-yield teams pick the bonds, roughly 1,000 of them, with prospectus limits on how far they can reach.nylim.comsec.gov
• Pays monthly, and the portfolio matches the mandate on the tin: global bonds, total return, nothing exotic bolted on. One of the stronger builds in its peer group.

• GRNB The mandate is the point: bonds whose proceeds fund environmentally friendly projects, tracked to the S&P Green Bond U.S. Dollar Select Index instead of a generic aggregate benchmark.vaneck.com
• 0.20% a year runs below the typical fund in its category, and it sits in the top quartile of a large aggregate-bond peer group on how closely it tracks and what it holds.
• Global sourcing, dollar pricing: supranational, government and corporate issuers, roughly 500 bonds, all USD-denominated, so no currency translation layered on top.
• Distributions land monthly, and the fund has been running since 2017.

Worth knowing

• CPLB The 'plus' is credit risk: up to 30% can sit below investment grade, up to 20% in foreign issuers and up to 10% in emerging markets.sec.gov
• That 0.30% is a contract, not a promise: the gross fee is 0.44%, and the cap runs to August 28, 2027.sec.gov
• Moderately traded rather than a category heavyweight, so trading costs matter more here than with the largest bond ETFs.

• GRNB Thinly traded next to core bond giants like BND, so spreads and order type matter more here.
• Green describes what the proceeds fund, not an issuer's whole business; the credit still sits with governments, supranationals and companies.
• The screen costs extra: plain aggregate rivals like BND and SPAB list expense ratios near 0.03%.

Full CPLB profile⁠

Full GRNB profile⁠