JMSI vs SCMB

JMSICJPMorgan Sustainable Municipal Income ETF

SCMBASchwab Municipal Bond ETF

In short

JMSI A muni fund where "sustainable" has a definition: at least 80% of assets in bonds funding affordable housing, hospitals, schools, water systems and transit. Actively run, value-oriented, tax-exempt income paid 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

JMSI The fund seeks current income exempt from federal income tax by investing in municipal bonds whose proceeds support positive social or environmental benefits.

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

• JMSI The screen is spelled out in the filings: affordable housing, healthcare, water and sewer, education, mass transit and issuer-designated green bonds, at least 80% of assets.sec.gov
• Active and value-oriented rather than index-tracking: roughly 300 municipal bonds picked by J.P. Morgan's muni team, with federally tax-exempt income distributed monthly.jpmorgan.com
• The ETF listed in 2023, but it carries forward a predecessor mutual fund whose record starts in 1993. Long-running strategy, newer packaging.jpmorgan.com
• The portfolio closely matches the mandate its own documents describe, so the sustainability label is doing real work.

• 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

• JMSI Cost runs above the category median. Broad index staples like VTEB and SCMB charge 0.03%, so the research and the screen are something you pay up for.
• "Sustainable" is defined by the adviser's own use-of-proceeds process, and the 80% policy can change on 60 days' written notice to shareholders.sec.gov
• A mid-size fund that trades moderately, so spreads can be wider than the giant muni index ETFs, and the bonds inside still carry rate and credit risk.

• 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 JMSI profile⁠

Full SCMB profile⁠