FTNJ vs VCRM: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

Franklin New Jersey Municipal Income ETF

FTNJBNYSE Arca

Vanguard Core Tax-Exempt Bond E

VCRMACboe

Overlap

No data

Expense ratio

VCRM −0.23pt a year

FTNJ0.35%VCRM0.12%

Avg volume · 30D

VCRM 4.1×the volume

FTNJ178KVCRM730K

FTNJ vs VCRM Performance

Dec 31, 2025 – Nov 9, 2026

+1.2%FTNJ+1.9%VCRM

Expense ratio: FTNJ 0.35%; VCRM 0.12%, better
Fund size: FTNJ $201M; VCRM $2.2B
1Y total return: FTNJ No data; VCRM +2.3%
Yield (12M): FTNJ No data; VCRM 3.75%
Holdings: FTNJ 186; VCRM 2595
Avg volume (30D): FTNJ 178K sh; VCRM 730K sh, better
NAV per share: FTNJ $8.57; VCRM $74.68
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for FTNJ, VCRM, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	FTNJ	VCRM
Cost30% weight	D35	A89Higher
Mission25% weight	A87	A100Higher
Risk15% weight	A72	A72
Tradability15% weight	C54	A82Higher
Holdings10% weight	D38	A81Higher
Durability5% weight	B65	A74Higher

Rank among Other Municipal Bond funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. FTNJ and VCRM are both graded against the same 63 Other Municipal Bond funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Other Municipal Bond⁠

Category · 63 funds

See all 63 ›

VCRM ranks 2nd and FTNJ 29th of 63 funds in the Other Municipal Bond Category.

Rank 1AVTEBVanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETFScore 89
Rank 2AVCRMVanguard Core Tax-Exempt Bond EScore 86
Rank 3AMUBiShares National Muni Bond ETFScore 85
Rank 29BBABInvesco Taxable Municipal Bond ETFScore 58
Rank 29BFTNJFranklin New Jersey Municipal Income ETFScore 58
Rank 29BGMNYGoldman Sachs Dynamic New York Municipal Income ETFScore 58

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

FTNJBFranklin New Jersey Municipal Income ETF

VCRMAVanguard Core Tax-Exempt Bond E

In short

FTNJ A New Jersey-only muni portfolio in an ETF wrapper: the mandate is current income exempt from both federal and New Jersey personal income tax, run off a Franklin strategy whose lineage goes back to 1990. Narrow by design, in a cohort ruled by national funds.

VCRM Vanguard's active answer in a mostly-index category: managers working the whole muni curve for 0.12% a year, under half the muni ETF median fee. Monthly income, exempt from federal personal income taxes.

Stated mandate

FTNJ The fund seeks a high level of current income exempt from federal income tax and New Jersey personal income tax.

VCRM The fund seeks total return through current income exempt from federal personal income taxes and capital appreciation.

Why people hold it

FTNJ The cohort's biggest names are national portfolios or other single states. This one is built for New Jersey, targeting income exempt from federal and NJ personal income tax.
Roughly 160 municipal bonds pointed at one clearly stated job: a high level of double tax-exempt current income for New Jersey taxpayers.
The strategy's lineage runs back to 1990, so this is a long-tenured muni mandate in ETF clothing, not a ticker minted last week for a theme.
It stays close to what the prospectus promises: a plain muni income portfolio with no leverage, no derivatives overlay, no structural surprises.

VCRM Active management priced at 0.12% a year, less than half the 0.30% median for muni ETFs.
Run by Vanguard's Fixed Income Group, with all-curve exposure to primarily high-quality investment-grade munis spread across sectors, states and credit tiers.prnewswire.com
Pays monthly, with income the fund seeks to keep exempt from federal personal income taxes.vanguard.com
Sticks tightly to its stated mandate and grades among the strongest implementations in its muni peer group.

Worth knowing

FTNJ The 0.35% annual fee sits above the typical muni ETF's. Index giants like VTEB and MUB cost a fraction, though neither is New Jersey-specific.
One state, about 160 bonds. Concentration is the price of the state tax break, so New Jersey budget and credit news lands harder here than in a national fund.
A modest asset base and only moderate trading mean spreads can matter more than in the mega national muni funds, and payouts arrive on an irregular schedule.

VCRM You pay up for the manager: index peers VTEB and SCMB run at 0.03%, a quarter of VCRM's 0.12%.
Launched in November 2024, so there is only a short record to judge the active mandate on.
All-curve exposure puts longer maturities in the mix, so prices move with rates. And the exemption is federal: state treatment of a national muni fund depends on where you live.prnewswire.com

Full FTNJ profile⁠

Full VCRM profile⁠

FTNJ vs VCRM Holdings

How FTNJ and VCRM differ

No overlap figure

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues.

Level by level

Countryby domicile97.1%
Asset classBonds100%
Sector2 Sectors99.7%

Sector

Sector weights in FTNJ and VCRM, widest gap first
Sector	More in FTNJMore in VCRM	Gap	FTNJ	VCRM
Municipal		FTNJ +0.3 points	100.0%	99.7%
Securitized		VCRM +0.3 points	0.0%	0.3%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in FTNJ and VCRM, widest gap first
Country	More in FTNJMore in VCRM	Gap	FTNJ	VCRM
United States		VCRM +2.9 points	96.9%	99.8%
Puerto Rico		FTNJ +2.9 points	3.1%	0.2%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

FTNJ22.5%
VCRM8.8%

Securities held

FTNJ184
VCRM2,433

Asset class

FTNJ: Bonds
VCRM: Bonds

Holdings

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues, so this page lists no shared Holdings. FTNJ holds 184 securities, VCRM 2,433.

All 165 FTNJ holdings⁠All 2,586 VCRM 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.

FTNJ vs VCRM Cost

Overpaying FTNJ vs VCRM

$4,606

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

FTNJ 0.35%
$7,126
VCRM 0.12%
$2,520

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

FTNJ 0.35%
VCRM 0.12%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	FTNJ	VCRM	Overpaying
10	$634	$220	$414
20	$2,454	$859	$1,595
30	$7,126	$2,520	$4,606

Expense ratio

0.35%FTNJ
0.12%VCRM, cheaper

VCRM0.12%FTNJ0.35%

0.03%4.59%

Middle half of Other Municipal Bond funds
Median 0.30%

VCRM 8th cheapest of 63 funds

FTNJ 37th cheapest of 63 funds

FTNJ vs VCRM Dividends

Last 12 months to Nov 9, 2026

Yield (12M): FTNJ No data; VCRM 3.75%
Payout (12M): FTNJ No data; VCRM $2.80
Last payment: FTNJ $0.03; VCRM $0.21
Ex-dividend: FTNJ Nov 2, 2026; VCRM Nov 2, 2026
Paid on: FTNJ Nov 5, 2026; VCRM Nov 4, 2026
Frequency: FTNJ Monthly; VCRM Monthly

Distribution history

Per share, 2024 to 2026, same scale for both

FTNJMonthly · 12 paymentsAll FTNJ payments⁠

VCRMMonthly · 23 paymentsAll VCRM payments⁠

FTNJ vs VCRM Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

This chart needs five years of history for both funds.

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: FTNJ No dataVCRM 5.6%since Dec 2024
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: FTNJ No dataVCRM −0.32since Dec 2024
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: FTNJ No dataVCRM −6.3%since Nov 2024
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: FTNJ 0.96VCRM 0.17; Market = 1

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