FSMB vs VTES: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

First Trust Short Duration Managed Municipal ETF

FSMBCNYSE Arca

Vanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond ETF

VTESANYSE Arca

Overlap

No data

Expense ratio

VTES −0.50pt a year

FSMB0.55%VTES0.05%

Avg volume · 30D

VTES 2.5×the volume

FSMB198KVTES498K

3Y return · a year

FSMB +0.2pt

FSMB+3.8%VTES+3.6%

FSMB vs VTES Performance

Oct 31, 2025 – Oct 30, 2026

+1.8%FSMB+1.6%VTES

Expense ratio: FSMB 0.55%; VTES 0.05%, better
Fund size: FSMB $660M; VTES $3.6B
1Y total return: FSMB +1.8%, better; VTES +1.6%
Yield (12M): FSMB 3.22%, better; VTES 2.67%
Holdings: FSMB 581; VTES 3913
Avg volume (30D): FSMB 198K sh; VTES 498K sh, better
NAV per share: FSMB $19.77; VTES $100.51
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for FSMB, VTES, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	FSMB	VTES
Cost30% weight	F0	A98Higher
Mission25% weight	A100	A100
Risk15% weight	C46Higher	D37
Tradability15% weight	B64	A75Higher
Holdings10% weight	A79Higher	B63
Durability5% weight	A70	A83Higher

Rank among Short-Duration Municipal Bonds funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. FSMB and VTES 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 ›

VTES ranks 1st 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 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

VTESAVanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt 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.

VTES Vanguard's muni ETF on a short leash: an AMT-free tax-exempt index, but capped at seven years to trim interest-rate sensitivity. Five basis points, roughly 2,700 bonds, income paid monthly.

Stated mandate

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

VTES The Fund seeks to track an index representing investment-grade U.S. municipal bonds with remaining maturities from one month through seven years.

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.

VTES Costs 0.05% a year, a fraction of what the typical muni-bond fund in its category charges. One of the cheapest ways into tax-exempt bonds.
Maturities run one month to seven years, so the portfolio moves less on rate swings than long-dated muni funds. Short duration is the whole point here.vanguard.com
The index is AMT-free national investment-grade munis, so interest is federally tax-exempt and not caught by the alternative minimum tax.vanguard.com
Roughly 2,700 bonds via index sampling, run by Vanguard's fixed income group, with distributions paid monthly. It tracks its benchmark closely.vanguard.com

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.

VTES Short maturities cut both ways. Vanguard's own materials describe moderate current income, the trade-off for less rate sensitivity than longer muni portfolios.vanguard.com
It's a national fund, so it isn't structured to shelter state income tax the way single-state muni ETFs such as NYF are.
Launched in 2023, it has a shorter live record than muni ETFs that have been trading for over a decade, including its broader sibling VTEB.

Full FSMB profile⁠

Full VTES profile⁠

FSMB vs VTES Holdings

How FSMB and VTES 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 and VTES.

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in FSMB and VTES, widest gap first
Country	More in FSMBMore in VTES	FSMB	VTES
United States	VTES +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%
VTES10.4%

Securities held

FSMB569
VTES2,313

Asset class

FSMB: Fixed Income
VTES: Fixed Income

Holdings

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues, so this page lists no shared Holdings. FSMB holds 569 securities, VTES 2,313.

All 580 FSMB holdings⁠All 2,667 VTES 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 VTES Cost

Overpaying FSMB vs VTES

$9,844

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

FSMB 0.55%
$10,904
VTES 0.05%
$1,060

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

FSMB 0.55%
VTES 0.05%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	FSMB	VTES	Overpaying
10	$988	$92	$896
20	$3,790	$360	$3,430
30	$10,904	$1,060	$9,844

Expense ratio

0.55%FSMB
0.05%VTES, cheaper

VTES0.05%FSMB0.55%

0.05%0.55%

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

VTES cheapest of 27 funds

FSMB 27th cheapest of 27 funds

FSMB vs VTES Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): FSMB 3.22%, better; VTES 2.67%
Payout (12M): FSMB $0.64; VTES $2.69
Last payment: FSMB $0.05; VTES $0.19
Ex-dividend: FSMB Oct 21, 2026; VTES Oct 1, 2026
Paid on: FSMB Oct 30, 2026; VTES Oct 5, 2026
Frequency: FSMB Monthly; VTES Monthly

Distribution history

Per share, 2023 to 2026, same scale for both

FSMBMonthly · 46 paymentsAll FSMB payments⁠

VTESMonthly · 44 paymentsAll VTES payments⁠

FSMB vs VTES Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

This chart needs five years of history for both funds.

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: FSMB 2.5%, betterVTES 2.8%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: FSMB −0.27, betterVTES −0.33
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: FSMB −5.9%VTES −3.0%since Mar 2023
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: FSMB 0.34VTES 0.37; Market = 1

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