RTAI vs SCMB

RTAIFRareview Tax Advantaged Income ETF

SCMBASchwab Municipal Bond ETF

In short

RTAI RTAI doesn't buy munis. It buys the closed-end funds that own them, hunting prices below the value of their holdings, and pays monthly. Cost: 4.59% net of a waiver through January 31, 2027 (5.24% gross).

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

RTAI The Fund seeks total return with an emphasis on current income, with a substantial portion intended to be exempt from federal income taxes.

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

• RTAI It's a fund of funds: unaffiliated municipal bond closed-end funds, bought at a discount or premium to the value of what they hold.sec.gov
• Income is the stated point, with a substantial portion of it intended to be exempt from federal income taxes, and the payout arrives monthly.
• It measures itself against the Bloomberg Municipal Bond Index rather than copying it, so a manager decides which closed-end funds to own and when.sec.gov

• 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

• RTAI Cost is the trade-off: 4.59% net of a waiver through January 31, 2027 (5.24% gross), versus 0.03% at VTEB and 0.05% at MUB, and above the category median.
• A small, lightly traded fund, so spreads and the gap between share price and net asset value can run wider than at the category's giants.
• Closed-end fund prices can sit above or below the bonds inside them, so results ride on discount swings as well as the muni market itself.sec.gov

• 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 RTAI profile⁠

Full SCMB profile⁠