FSMB vs SUB: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

First Trust Short Duration Managed Municipal ETF

FSMBCNYSE Arca

iShares Short-Term National Muni Bond ETF

SUBANYSE Arca

Overlap

No data

Expense ratio

SUB −0.48pt a year

FSMB0.55%SUB0.07%

Avg volume · 30D

SUB 4.3×the volume

FSMB198KSUB860K

5Y return · a year

SUB +0.1pt

FSMB+1.5%SUB+1.6%

FSMB vs SUB Performance

Oct 29, 2021 – Oct 30, 2026

+7.8%FSMB+8.3%SUB

Expense ratio: FSMB 0.55%; SUB 0.07%, better
Fund size: FSMB $660M; SUB $13.3B
1Y total return: FSMB +1.8%; SUB +2.1%, better
Yield (12M): FSMB 3.22%, better; SUB 2.57%
Holdings: FSMB 581; SUB 3188
Avg volume (30D): FSMB 198K sh; SUB 860K sh, better
NAV per share: FSMB $19.77; SUB $105.87
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for FSMB, SUB, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	FSMB	SUB
Cost30% weight	F0	A91Higher
Mission25% weight	A100	A100
Risk15% weight	C46Higher	C44
Tradability15% weight	B64Higher	B60
Holdings10% weight	A79	A81Higher
Durability5% weight	A70	A94Higher

Rank among Short-Duration Municipal Bonds funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. FSMB and SUB are both graded against the same 27 Short-Duration Municipal Bonds funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Short-Duration Municipal Bonds⁠

Category · 27 funds

See all 27 ›

SUB ranks 2nd and FSMB 24th of 27 funds in the Short-Duration Municipal Bonds Category.

Rank 1AVTESVanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond ETFScore 81
Rank 2ASUBiShares Short-Term National Muni Bond ETFScore 80
Rank 2AVSDMVanguard Short Duration Tax-Exempt Bond ETFScore 80
Rank 22CTAXXBondBloxx IR+M Tax-Aware Short Duration ETFScore 53
Rank 24CFSMBFirst Trust Short Duration Managed Municipal ETFScore 52
Rank 24CZMUNF/m Ultrashort Tax-Free Municipal ETFScore 52

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

FSMBCFirst Trust Short Duration Managed Municipal ETF

SUBAiShares Short-Term National Muni Bond ETF

In short

FSMB Most short-duration muni ETFs are plain index trackers. FSMB is run by hand, and its prospectus lets up to 35% of net assets sit in below-investment-grade munis. Federally tax-exempt income, paid monthly, at a 0.55% fee.

SUB Munis, but only the near end of the curve. Since 2008 SUB has tracked an AMT-free index of investment-grade municipal bonds maturing inside five years, paying tax-exempt income monthly with far less rate sensitivity than long-dated muni funds.

Stated mandate

FSMB The fund seeks federally tax-exempt income while emphasizing capital preservation.

SUB The fund seeks to track an index of short-term, investment-grade U.S. municipal bonds maturing from one month through five years, providing tax-exempt income while managing interest-rate risk.

Why people hold it

FSMB An active manager picking short-dated munis instead of copying an index, with prospectus room for up to 35% of net assets in below-investment-grade paper.ftportfolios.com
Spreads its bets across roughly 600 bonds and pays federally tax-exempt income monthly.
Listed in 2018 and has stuck closely to its stated short-duration municipal mandate ever since.

SUB Charges 0.07% a year against a category median near 0.30%. On tax-exempt bond income, that fee gap is a meaningful slice of what actually reaches you.
Two dials set on purpose: maturities from one month to five years, and an AMT-free index, so neither rate swings nor the alternative minimum tax hit the same way.ishares.com
A multi-billion-dollar fund running since 2008 under iShares, with tight tracking of its ICE benchmark. One of the sturdier implementations in the muni group.
Pays monthly, so the tax-exempt income arrives on a regular cadence rather than in quarterly lumps.

Worth knowing

FSMB The fee is 0.55%, above the category norm, while index peers VTES (0.05%) and SUB (0.07%) charge a fraction of that.
That credit latitude cuts both ways: capital preservation is the stated aim, not a floor, and lower-rated munis can move the price.ftportfolios.com
Moderately traded rather than heavily traded, so spreads and trade timing matter more than in the category's biggest index funds.

SUB The five-year ceiling is the whole design, and it cuts both ways: less rate sensitivity, but a shorter stretch of the curve to draw income from than full-maturity muni funds.
This is a national portfolio. Single-state funds like NYF chase a home-state tax break that a nationwide muni basket cannot offer.
Broad-maturity peers VTEB and SCMB run at 0.03%. The short-end tilt here costs a few basis points more.

Full FSMB profile⁠

Full SUB profile⁠

FSMB vs SUB Holdings

How FSMB and SUB differ

No overlap figure

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues.

Level by level

Asset classFixed Income100%
Countryby domicile99.8%

Sector

No Sector split for FSMB.

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in FSMB and SUB, widest gap first
Country	More in FSMBMore in SUB	FSMB	SUB
United States	SUB +0.2 points	99.8%	100.0%
Guam	FSMB +0.1 points	0.1%	0.0%
Canada	Same weight	0.0%	0.0%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

FSMB6.7%
SUB3.3%

Securities held

FSMB569
SUB2,459

Asset class

FSMB: Fixed Income
SUB: Fixed Income

Holdings

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues, so this page lists no shared Holdings. FSMB holds 569 securities, SUB 2,459.

All 580 FSMB holdings⁠All 3,128 SUB 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.

FSMB vs SUB Cost

Overpaying FSMB vs SUB

$9,424

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

FSMB 0.55%
$10,904
SUB 0.07%
$1,480

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

FSMB 0.55%
SUB 0.07%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	FSMB	SUB	Overpaying
10	$988	$128	$860
20	$3,790	$503	$3,287
30	$10,904	$1,480	$9,424

Expense ratio

0.55%FSMB
0.07%SUB, cheaper

SUB0.07%FSMB0.55%

0.05%0.55%

Middle half of Short-Duration Municipal Bonds funds
Median 0.21%

SUB 3rd cheapest of 27 funds

FSMB 27th cheapest of 27 funds

FSMB vs SUB Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): FSMB 3.22%, better; SUB 2.57%
Payout (12M): FSMB $0.64; SUB $2.73
Last payment: FSMB $0.05; SUB $0.23
Ex-dividend: FSMB Oct 21, 2026; SUB Oct 1, 2026
Paid on: FSMB Oct 30, 2026; SUB Oct 6, 2026
Frequency: FSMB Monthly; SUB Monthly

Distribution history

Per share, 2023 to 2026, same scale for both

FSMBMonthly · 46 paymentsAll FSMB payments⁠

SUBMonthly · 45 paymentsAll SUB payments⁠

FSMB vs SUB Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

FSMB
SUB

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: FSMB 2.5%SUB 2.0%, better
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: FSMB −0.27, betterSUB −0.59
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: FSMB −5.9%SUB −4.0%, better
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: FSMB 0.34SUB 0.26; Market = 1

FSMB and SUB in the news

All news⁠

New ETFs
Nine new bond ETFs match the index fund beside them, or cost more
Oct 5, 2026SUB
New ETFs
Victory's two new municipal ETFs list at fees a waiver is holding down
Oct 5, 2026SUB

Popular comparisons

FSMBCvsVTESA
First Trust Short Duration Managed Municipal ETF · Vanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond ETF
Expense ratio
0.55% · 0.05%
Category
SUBAvsVTESA
iShares Short-Term National Muni Bond ETF · Vanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond ETF
Expense ratio
0.07% · 0.05%
Category
FSMBCvsVSDMA
First Trust Short Duration Managed Municipal ETF · Vanguard Short Duration Tax-Exempt Bond ETF
Expense ratio
0.55% · 0.12%
Category
SUBAvsVSDMA
iShares Short-Term National Muni Bond ETF · Vanguard Short Duration Tax-Exempt Bond ETF
Expense ratio
0.07% · 0.12%
Category
FSMBCvsTAXSA
First Trust Short Duration Managed Municipal ETF · Northern Trust Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond ETF
Expense ratio
0.55% · 0.05%
Category
SUBAvsTAXSA
iShares Short-Term National Muni Bond ETF · Northern Trust Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond ETF
Expense ratio
0.07% · 0.05%
Category

FSMB vs SUB

In short

Stated mandate

Why people hold it

Worth knowing

How FSMB and SUB differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Cost over time

Year by year

Distribution history

Fall from peak · 5 years

Risk facts

Nine new bond ETFs match the index fund beside them, or cost more

Victory's two new municipal ETFs list at fees a waiver is holding down

How FSMB and SUB differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings