FLMB vs SCMB

FLMBBFranklin Municipal Green Bond ETF

SCMBASchwab Municipal Bond ETF

In short

FLMB Most muni funds buy the whole tax-exempt market. FLMB narrows the lens: a prospectus commitment of at least 80% of net assets to municipal green bonds, held in a compact portfolio that pays income monthly.

SCMB Schwab's take on the core muni sleeve: three basis points, thousands of AMT-free bonds from across the country, and a monthly distribution. Bottom-of-the-table pricing, no frills attached.

Stated mandate

FLMB The fund commits at least 80% of its net assets to municipal green bonds.

SCMB The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the total return of an index representing the U.S. AMT-free municipal bond market.

Why people hold it

• FLMB The green mandate is contractual, not marketing: the prospectus commits at least 80% of net assets to municipal green bonds.
• Compact by design, roughly 80 bonds, so the green-project theme shows up in the portfolio instead of being diluted across thousands of holdings.
• The screen doesn't cost extra versus the typical muni fund: 0.30%, right at the category median.
• Municipal bond income, paid monthly, from a Franklin Templeton fund that has been trading since 2017.

• SCMB Three basis points a year, against a 0.30% median for muni bond funds. Among the top-graded names in the category, only Vanguard's VTEB matches that fee.
• Follows the ICE AMT-Free Core U.S. National Municipal Index across thousands of bonds and issuers, so no single borrower or state drives the portfolio.
• Plain passive plumbing done well: it stays close to its index, trades actively, and pays monthly. One of the stronger implementations in the muni aisle.

Worth knowing

• FLMB Thinly traded. The bid-ask spread can matter more to your all-in cost than the expense ratio does.
• The broad muni index giants run far cheaper: VTEB and SCMB at 0.03%, MUB at 0.05%. The green screen carries a real price premium.
• A slice of a slice. With about 80 bonds, individual issuers and project types swing results more than in a thousand-bond index fund.

• SCMB Launched in 2022, so its live record is shorter than muni staples like MUB and VTEB, even though the strategy is the same broad-market idea.
• Bond math still applies. This is a portfolio of municipal bonds, so share prices move opposite to interest rates.
• National in scope, not single-state like NYF, so it is not built around any one state's tax rules.

Full FLMB profile⁠

Full SCMB profile⁠