RJMI vs VTEB

RJMICRJ Eagle Municipal Income ETF

VTEBAVanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF

In short

RJMI A 2025 debut from Raymond James: a national muni bond ETF built bond by bond, aimed at income exempt from federal tax. The trade-off is price, in a corner of the market where the index giants charge three basis points.

VTEB Vanguard's national muni index fund, running since 2015 at three basis points, a tenth of what the typical muni ETF charges. Its benchmark screens for investment-grade bonds whose income is exempt from federal tax and the AMT.

Stated mandate

RJMI The fund seeks to invest at least 80% of its assets in a diversified portfolio of debt securities whose interest is exempt from federal income tax, as determined by issuer bond counsel.

VTEB VTEB seeks to track an index measuring the investment-grade segment of the U.S. municipal bond market. It uses passive sampling to approximate the index and generally invests in federally tax-exempt municipal securities.

Why people hold it

• RJMI Explicit mandate: at least 80% of assets in bonds whose interest is exempt from federal income tax, as determined by issuer bond counsel. The portfolio has stuck closely to that label.
• Diversified and national by design, not a single-state sleeve like NYF, so the tax-exempt exposure spreads across many issuers.
• No benchmark to clone. It doesn't share a declared index with the category's big trackers, so the manager picks bonds rather than replicate a list.

• VTEB Three basis points a year against a 0.30% muni-ETF median. On tax-exempt bonds, where coupons are modest, that fee gap is a real slice of the payout.
• The index holds only investment-grade munis whose interest is exempt from federal income tax and the alternative minimum tax, so the income carries no AMT surprise.vanguard.com
• A multi-billion-dollar fund and one of the most heavily traded in the muni category, which tends to show up as tight bid-ask spreads. Income is paid monthly.
• It has tracked its benchmark closely and sits among the strongest implementations in a crowded muni bond peer group.

Worth knowing

• RJMI 0.41% a year sits above the typical muni ETF and many times the 0.03% at VTEB and SCMB. In a low-coupon category, fees take a visible bite out of tax-free income.
• It opened in October 2025 with a small asset base and light trading, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than at the category's household names.
• Payouts have arrived irregularly rather than on the fixed monthly rhythm many muni funds keep.

• VTEB Federal exemption, not blanket coverage. Income can still be taxable in your home state, which is why single-state funds like NYF exist alongside it.vanguard.com
• Credit quality is investment grade, so rates are the main swing factor: when muni yields rise, bond prices and the fund's share price fall.vanguard.com
• Sampling, not full replication. The fund owns a representative slice of a very large index rather than every bond in it.vanguard.com

Full RJMI profile⁠

Full VTEB profile⁠