SMBS vs VABS: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

Schwab Mortgage-Backed Securities ETF

SMBSANYSE Arca

Virtus Newfleet Securitized Income ETF

VABSCNYSE Arca

Overlap

0.0%by weight

Expense ratio

SMBS −0.36pt a year

SMBS0.03%VABS0.39%

Avg volume · 30D

SMBS 281.4×the volume

SMBS1.01MVABS3.6K

SMBS vs VABS Performance

Oct 31, 2025 – Oct 30, 2026

+0.3%SMBS+3.3%VABS

Expense ratio: SMBS 0.03%, better; VABS 0.39%
Fund size: SMBS $6.45B; VABS $112M
1Y total return: SMBS +0.3%; VABS +3.3%, better
Yield (12M): SMBS 5.32%, better; VABS 5.20%
Holdings: SMBS 4343; VABS 159
Avg volume (30D): SMBS 1.01M sh, better; VABS 3.6K sh
NAV per share: SMBS $24.67; VABS $23.81
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for SMBS, VABS, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	SMBS	VABS
Cost30% weight	A94Higher	C44
Mission25% weight	B61Higher	F17
Risk15% weight	D35	A87Higher
Tradability15% weight	B68Higher	F15
Holdings10% weight	A86Higher	A80
Durability5% weight	B60Higher	C46

Rank among Mortgage-Backed Securities funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. SMBS and VABS are both graded against the same 24 Mortgage-Backed Securities funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Mortgage-Backed Securities⁠

Category · 24 funds

See all 24 ›

SMBS ranks 4th and VABS 14th of 24 funds in the Mortgage-Backed Securities Category.

Rank 1ASPMBState Street SPDR Portfolio Mortgage Backed Bond ETFScore 75
Rank 2AMBBiShares MBS ETFScore 73
Rank 3AVMBSVanguard Mortgage-Backed Securities ETFScore 72
Rank 4ASMBSSchwab Mortgage-Backed Securities ETFScore 70
Rank 5BJMTGJPMorgan Mortgage-Backed Securities ETFScore 63
Rank 13CLMBSFirst Trust Low Duration Opportunities ETFScore 45
Rank 14CVABSVirtus Newfleet Securitized Income ETFScore 43
Rank 15CIMTGInvesco Agency MBS ETFScore 42

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

SMBSASchwab Mortgage-Backed Securities ETF

VABSCVirtus Newfleet Securitized Income ETF

In short

SMBS No data

VABS The agency-mortgage aisle is wall-to-wall cheap index trackers. VABS is the odd one out: an actively managed securitized-income fund from Virtus, run by the Newfleet bond team since its 2021 launch, paying monthly.

Stated mandate

SMBS No data

VABS The Fund seeks income through an actively managed exchange-traded fund strategy.

Why people hold it

SMBS No data

VABS No index to hug. The managers choose their spots across securitized bonds and can reposition as the market shifts, something the passive mortgage trackers in this group (SPMB, VMBS, MBB) are not built to do.
Income is the stated job, and the cash arrives monthly rather than on a quarterly drip.
Spread across roughly 200 bond positions, so no single deal carries the portfolio. Diversification is one of this fund's stronger suits within its mortgage-bond peer group.
Despite being the active outlier in a cohort of low-cost giants, it lands in the upper half of its mortgage-bond peer group on our overall read.

Worth knowing

SMBS No data

VABS Active management carries an active price: 0.39% a year, versus 0.03% at VMBS and 0.04% at SPMB and MBB. You are paying for the manager's judgment, not the index.
A small fund that trades thinly next to the index heavyweights, which can mean wider bid-ask spreads and more care needed on order size and timing.
With no benchmark to track, results ride on the team's security selection rather than on a published index you can look up in advance.

Full SMBS profile⁠

Full VABS profile⁠

SMBS vs VABS Holdings

How SMBS and VABS differ

Overlap by weight

0.0%

Shared holdings make up 0.0% of SMBS and 0.0% of VABS.

Level by level

Asset classEquity, Fixed Income0.0%
Holdings0 in both0.0%
Countryby domicile99.3%

Sector

No Sector split for SMBS and VABS.

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in SMBS and VABS, widest gap first
Country	More in SMBSMore in VABS	SMBS	VABS
United States	SMBS +0.7 points	100.0%	99.3%
Ireland	VABS +0.7 points	0.0%	0.7%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

SMBS3.9%
VABS18.1%

Securities held

SMBS4,343
VABS158

Asset class

SMBS: Equity
VABS: Fixed Income

Holdings

Only in SMBS4,343
In both0
Only in VABS158

Only in SMBS

4,343 securities, 100% of SMBS by weight

Ssc Government Mm Gvmxx1.31%
GNMA2 30YR 5.00% 11/20/2054 (BBG01NZQMR80)0.44%
Fhlmc 30YR Umbs Super 5.50% 10/01/2054 (BBG01NYFN109)0.32%
Fhlmc 30YR Umbs Super 2.50% 01/01/2054 (BBG020YCJVV0)0.31%
Fhlmc 30YR Umbs 5.00% 04/01/2056 (BBG01ZQXS4M7)0.29%
Fhlmc 30YR Umbs Super 2.00% 02/01/2052 (BBG013B19FS4)0.28%
Fnma 30YR Umbs 5.50% 04/01/2053 (BBG01F33L1J9)0.25%
GNMA2 30YR 5.00% 05/20/2056 (BBG01ZVZ4RL2)0.25%
Fnma 30YR Umbs 2.00% 05/01/2051 (BBG00ZHCZ133)0.24%
Fhlmc 30YR Umbs Super 2.00% 11/01/2050 (BBG00WGK3T46)0.24%
GNMA2 30YR 5.00% 01/20/2056 (BBG01XK7V325)0.24%
Fhlmc 30YR Umbs 5.00% 03/01/2056 (BBG01YX6GQM5)0.23%
GNMA2 30YR 5.00% 07/20/2056 (BBG0218B7LX2)0.23%
GNMA2 30YR 5.00% 12/20/2055 (BBG01WXTXHP7)0.22%
Fhlmc 30YR Umbs Super 2.50% 01/01/2052 (BBG016008MY0)0.21%
GNMA2 30YR 5.50% 06/20/2055 (BBG01SJ8MLF2)0.20%
GNMA2 30YR 5.00% 04/20/2056 (BBG01Z997ZP0)0.20%
GNMA2 30YR 5.00% 11/20/2055 (BBG01WCVFMG4)0.19%
Fhlmc 30YR Umbs 5.00% 03/01/2056 (BBG021983ZP0)0.19%
Fhlmc 30YR Umbs Super 2.00% 02/01/2051 (BBG00Y2HT9V0)0.19%
GNMA2 30YR 5.00% 10/20/2053 (BBG01H70ZSP6)0.19%
Fhlmc 30YR Umbs 6.00% 08/01/2055 (BBG01VH3BJN6)0.18%
Fnma 30YR Umbs 1.50% 01/01/2051 (BBG00Y2N8VB3)0.18%
GNMA2 30YR 2.00% 01/20/2051 (BBG00XM8VJ81)0.18%
Fnma 30YR Umbs Super 5.50% 03/01/2056 (BBG02149FF01)0.18%
GNMA2 30YR 5.50% 04/20/2054 (BBG01KRRJJN8)0.18%
GNMA2 30YR 5.00% 12/20/2054 (BBG01PH23K11)0.18%
Fhlmc 30YR Umbs Super 4.50% 12/01/2054 (BBG01Q51M614)0.17%
GNMA2 30YR 4.00% 09/20/2052 (BBG017RS0430)0.17%
GNMA2 30YR 2.00% 11/20/2050 (BBG00WC0HNK4)0.17%
GNMA2 30YR 5.00% 01/20/2055 (BBG01Q0N1RB7)0.17%
Fhlmc 30YR Umbs Super 5.00% 12/01/2052 (BBG019M600Y3)0.17%
GNMA2 30YR 2.00% 02/20/2051 (BBG00XZZP6J0)0.17%
Fnma 30YR Umbs Super 3.00% 08/01/2051 (BBG01249GBZ0)0.17%
Fnma 30YR Umbs Super 2.50% 04/01/2052 (BBG01H6YXH06)0.17%
Fnma 30YR Umbs 2.00% 02/01/2051 (BBG00YHWVS82)0.17%
Fnma 30YR Umbs Super 4.50% 01/01/2054 (BBG01NRW0XJ5)0.17%
Fnma 30YR Umbs Super 4.00% 08/01/2052 (BBG0194C3RZ7)0.17%
Fhlmc 30YR Umbs Super 2.00% 03/01/2051 (BBG00YDFS7Y4)0.17%
Fhlmc 30YR Umbs Super 5.50% 09/01/2055 (BBG01XH7PCY1)0.16%
Fnma 30YR Umbs 2.00% 07/01/2051 (BBG01107SVX5)0.16%
Fhlmc 30YR Umbs Super 2.00% 07/01/2051 (BBG01TG2L1Z9)0.16%
Fnma 30YR Umbs 6.00% 04/01/2055 (BBG01S4FGCM1)0.16%
GNMA2 30YR 2.00% 04/20/2051 (BBG00YPHW6M7)0.16%
GNMA2 30YR 2.50% 08/20/2050 (BBG00TGXYGY6)0.16%
Fnma 30YR Umbs 2.00% 12/01/2050 (BBG00XS6NZ55)0.16%
GNMA2 30YR 4.50% 10/20/2052 (BBG018GZYKB2)0.16%
GNMA2 30YR 5.50% 08/20/2054 (BBG01MLZDQL4)0.16%
Fnma 30YR Umbs 6.00% 02/01/2054 (BBG01KFL4C28)0.16%
GNMA2 30YR 5.50% 12/20/2054 (BBG01PH23JP8)0.16%

Only in VABS

158 securities, 98.5% of VABS by weight

Fr SL1127 6.000% 12/01/20542.76%
Gnr 2025-125 Ja 5.000% 11/16/20501.97%
Mmp 2025-A B 5.720% 12/15/20311.85%
Bell 2025-1A A2I 4.821% 08/25/20551.80%
Part 2025-1A C 5.520% 02/15/20301.77%
Obx 2024-HYB1 A1 3.633% 03/25/20531.71%
Lbzz 2024-3A B 5.030% 11/15/20301.66%
Subway 2024-1A A2II 6.268% 07/30/20311.58%
Star 2025-SFR5 A 5.755% 02/17/20271.46%
Wlake 2025-2A D 5.080% 05/15/20311.41%
Veros 2025-1 C 6.170% 12/17/20291.33%
Plnt 2024-1A A2I 5.765% 06/05/20291.26%
Ala 2025-OANA A 5.668% 06/15/20401.23%
Finbe 2025-1A B 6.600% 12/16/20301.20%
Mnet 2025-2A A2 5.400% 08/20/20551.19%
Jmike 2024-1A A2 5.636% 02/15/20321.18%
Aesop 2024-2A D 7.430% 10/20/20281.16%
Uacst 2026-2 C 6.360% 02/10/20321.09%
Aesop 2023-7A B 6.440% 08/21/20281.09%
Mfra 2025-NQM5 A1 5.186% 11/25/20701.08%
Dnkn 2025-1A A2I 4.891% 08/20/20551.06%
Eart 2025-3A D 5.570% 10/15/20311.06%
Din 2023-1A A2 7.824% 06/05/20291.06%
Mvwot 2026-2A A 5.760% 11/20/20431.02%
Coopr 2025-CES3 A1A 4.840% 09/25/20601.02%
Gcar 2026-1A D 5.020% 12/15/20311.02%
Chry 2026-1A A 5.430% 01/17/20341.01%
Pmcc 2026-1A A 5.340% 07/15/20360.99%
Gcar 2025-1A D 5.610% 11/15/20300.99%
Coopr 2025-CES1 A1A 5.654% 05/25/20600.98%
Acar 2024-3 D 6.040% 07/12/20300.98%
Lasar 2026-A E 7.450% 06/15/20340.98%
Acar 2025-2 D 5.500% 08/12/20310.98%
Drmt 2026-INV3 A1 5.473% 06/25/20710.98%
Eart 2026-3A D 5.440% 10/15/20320.97%
Mst 2017-1A A 3.000% 04/25/20550.97%
Upst 2026-3 B 5.350% 07/20/20360.97%
Nmef 2026-A C 4.710% 02/15/20340.96%
Jack 2026-1A A2 7.624% 05/25/20560.95%
Efmt 2026-NQM6 A1 5.466% 06/25/20710.94%
Bjets 2024-2A A 5.364% 05/15/20390.92%
Rckt 2024-CES8 A1A 5.490% 10/25/20440.89%
Wstn 2023-MAUI C 7.690% 07/05/20370.89%
Peac 2025-1A C 5.490% 07/20/20320.88%
Ladar 2025-1A D 5.520% 05/15/20320.88%
Axis 2025-1A D 5.680% 08/20/20320.88%
Admso 2026-1 A2 5.953% 07/20/20560.87%
Swtch 2024-2A A2 5.436% 06/25/20290.85%
Ride 2025-SHRE C 5.709% 02/14/20300.85%
Jpmmt 2026-ACES1 A1 4.894% 04/25/20660.85%

Weight gaps

SMBS and VABS share no securities.

All 4,343 SMBS holdings⁠All 198 VABS holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

SMBS vs VABS Cost

Overpaying VABS vs SMBS

$7,260

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

SMBS 0.03%
$638
VABS 0.39%
$7,898

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

SMBS 0.03%
VABS 0.39%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	SMBS	VABS	Overpaying
10	$55	$705	$650
20	$216	$2,725	$2,509
30	$638	$7,898	$7,260

Expense ratio

0.03%SMBS, cheaper
0.39%VABS

SMBS0.03%VABS0.39%

0.03%0.86%

Middle half of Mortgage-Backed Securities funds
Median 0.38%

SMBS cheapest of 24 funds

VABS 13th cheapest of 24 funds

SMBS vs VABS Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): SMBS 5.32%, better; VABS 5.20%
Payout (12M): SMBS $1.31; VABS $1.24
Last payment: SMBS $0.11; VABS $0.12
Ex-dividend: SMBS Oct 1, 2026; VABS Oct 20, 2026
Paid on: SMBS Oct 7, 2026; VABS Oct 27, 2026
Frequency: SMBS Monthly; VABS Monthly

Distribution history

Per share, 2023 to 2026, same scale for both

SMBSMonthly · 22 paymentsAll SMBS payments⁠

VABSMonthly · 46 paymentsAll VABS payments⁠

SMBS vs VABS Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

This chart needs five years of history for both funds.

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: SMBS 4.9%since Dec 2024VABS 1.9%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: SMBS −0.16since Dec 2024VABS 0.71
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: SMBS −5.2%since Nov 2024VABS −6.7%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: SMBS 0.07VABS 0.20; Market = 1

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