JHMU vs SCMB

JHMUBJohn Hancock Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF

SCMBASchwab Municipal Bond ETF

In short

JHMU John Hancock's first muni ETF skips the index and hunts pricing imbalances bond by bond, favoring revenue bonds with call protection. That active work runs 0.39% net of a waiver through July 31, 2027.

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

JHMU The fund seeks a high level of interest income that is exempt from federal income tax. Its strategy uses pricing imbalances within the municipal bond market.

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

• JHMU No index to hug. The Manulife team trades munis of any maturity and leans toward revenue bonds and call-protected paper, hunting pricing imbalances the benchmark crowd rides past.sec.gov
• The mandate is federally tax-exempt interest, at least 80% of net assets in munis, and the portfolio has tracked that stated job closely. Pays monthly.jhinvestments.com
• Tools a plain index muni fund doesn't carry: up to 20% in below-investment-grade bonds, plus tender option bond transactions the prospectus allows to seek added gains.sec.govjhinvestments.com
• About 300 bonds, run since the 2023 launch by Manulife's muni desk, John Hancock's first crack at a municipal ETF.johnhancock.com

• 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

• JHMU 0.39% net of a waiver through July 31, 2027 (0.77% gross) sits above the category median and far above index rivals VTEB at 0.03% and MUB at 0.05%.
• It can load up on one state or region and hold junk-rated munis, so credit and geographic swings can run hotter than a broad national index fund.sec.gov
• Volume is light next to the category's giants, which tends to mean wider spreads at the screen than the household-name muni ETFs.

• 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 JHMU profile⁠

Full SCMB profile⁠