PZT vs SCMB

PZTCInvesco New York AMT-Free Municipal Bond ETF

SCMBASchwab Municipal Bond ETF

In short

PZT One of the few ETFs built only for New York municipal bonds, and it fishes at the long end of the curve. Tracks a long-term New York muni index, aims for income exempt from federal tax and free of the AMT, and has been running since 2007.

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

PZT The Fund seeks current income exempt from federal income tax through a portfolio of New York municipal securities. It generally invests at least 80% of assets in municipal securities comprising its declared index.

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

• PZT A single-state mandate with a clear job: New York municipal securities chosen to pay income exempt from federal tax, with the alternative minimum tax screened out.invesco.com
• The benchmark is a long-term New York muni index, so this is a deliberate long-maturity stance rather than a blended one.invesco.com
• Roughly 1,200 bonds, so no single New York issuer carries the portfolio. Income is paid monthly.
• At 0.28%, the fee sits a shade below the median for muni bond ETFs.

• 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

• PZT That 0.28% is still well above the cheapest New York option, iShares' NYF at 0.09%, and far above broad national muni funds priced near 0.03%.
• Trading is thin next to national muni ETFs, which tends to mean wider spreads on the way in and out.
• Two concentrations stack here: one state's credit and the long end of the maturity curve, where prices move more when rates do.

• 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 PZT profile⁠

Full SCMB profile⁠