SCMB vs SCNM

SCMBASchwab Municipal Bond ETF

SCNMCSterling Capital National Municipal Bond ETF

In short

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.

SCNM A boutique shop's take on national munis: income exempt from regular federal income taxes with capital preservation as the second job, measured against the Bloomberg U.S. Municipal Index. It opened in December 2025.

Stated mandate

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.

SCNM The Fund seeks current income exempt from regular federal income taxes while preserving capital.

Why people hold it

• 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.

• SCNM The mandate is plain: current income exempt from regular federal income taxes, with preserving capital as the stated second goal.
• National scope rather than single-state, so the portfolio isn't tied to one state's tax base the way a New York-only fund like NYF is.
• Benchmarked to the Bloomberg U.S. Municipal Index, the standard yardstick for the broad tax-exempt market, inside a plain 1940 Act ETF wrapper.

Worth knowing

• 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.

• SCNM At 0.35% it prices above the muni category median of 0.30%, and far above index heavyweights VTEB and SCMB at 0.03%. In tax-exempt bonds, fees bite a modest yield.
• It launched in December 2025, so there's little track record to judge, and early trading has been light compared with the category's household names.
• The exemption it targets is from regular federal income taxes. State and local tax treatment is a separate question for the holder.

Full SCMB profile⁠

Full SCNM profile⁠