FSMB Alternatives & Similar ETFs

First Trust Short Duration Managed Municipal ETF (FSMB) belongs to the Municipal Bonds category. Below you'll find alternative ETFs from the same category, ranked by key criteria, plus funds that investors commonly compare with FSMB. Use the tables to find lower-cost options, better risk-adjusted returns, or a closer substitute for your current allocation.

Cheapest Alternatives to FSMB

FSMB charges 0.45% annually. There are 128 ETFs in the Municipal Bonds category with lower expense ratios, going as low as 0.03%.

Symbol	Name	Expense Ratio	AUM	Inception
SCMB	Schwab Municipal Bond ETF	0.03%	3.93B	Oct 2022	FSMB vs SCMB
VTEB	Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF	0.03%	48.80B	Aug 2015	FSMB vs VTEB
TAXS	Northern Trust Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond ETF	0.05%	130.20M	Aug 2025	FSMB vs TAXS
TAXI	Northern Trust Intermediate Tax-Exempt Bond ETF	0.05%	169.01M	Aug 2025	FSMB vs TAXI
TAXT	Northern Trust Tax-Exempt Bond ETF	0.05%	60.01M	Aug 2025	FSMB vs TAXT

Best Risk-Adjusted Alternatives to FSMB

FSMB has a PortfoliosLab risk / return rank of 70. There are 37 ETFs in the Municipal Bonds category with higher risk-adjusted ranks, going as high as 97.

Symbol	Name	Risk / Return Rank	AUM	Inception
MYMF	State Street My2026 Municipal Bond ETF	97	8.74M	Sep 2024	FSMB vs MYMF
MYMG	State Street My2027 Municipal Bond ETF	97	8.63M	Sep 2024	FSMB vs MYMG
AUSM	Allspring Ultra Short Municipal ETF	96	30.06M	Jul 2025	FSMB vs AUSM
GUMI	Goldman Sachs Ultra Short Municipal Income ETF	96	54.13M	Jul 2024	FSMB vs GUMI
MEAR	iShares Short Maturity Municipal Bond ETF	96	1.36B	Mar 2015	FSMB vs MEAR

Top Performing FSMB Alternatives (YTD)

FSMB is at 1.08% YTD. There are 43 ETFs in the Municipal Bonds category with higher YTD returns, going as high as 2.90%.

Symbol	Name	YTD Return	AUM	Inception
ZTAX	X-Square Municipal Income Tax Free ETF	2.90%	4.54M	May 2023	FSMB vs ZTAX
OVM	Overlay Shares Municipal Bond ETF	2.46%	30.60M	Sep 2019	FSMB vs OVM
MMMA	NYLI MacKay Muni Allocation ETF	2.45%	28.01M	Dec 2025	FSMB vs MMMA
RVNU	Xtrackers Municipal Infrastructure Revenue Bond ET...	2.42%	142.95M	Jun 2013	FSMB vs RVNU
THYM	T. Rowe Price High Income Municipal ETF	2.17%	26.19M	Nov 2025	FSMB vs THYM

Lowest Volatility Alternatives to FSMB

FSMB has 1.44% 1-year volatility. There are 27 ETFs in the Municipal Bonds category with lower 1-year volatility, going as low as 0.54%.

Symbol	Name	Volatility 1Y	AUM	Inception
ZMUN	F/m Ultrashort Tax-Free Municipal ETF	0.54%	34.95M	Sep 2025	FSMB vs ZMUN
MYMF	State Street My2026 Municipal Bond ETF	0.65%	8.74M	Sep 2024	FSMB vs MYMF
CALI	iShares Short-Term California Muni Active ETF	0.72%	445.30M	Oct 2007	FSMB vs CALI
AUSM	Allspring Ultra Short Municipal ETF	0.76%	30.06M	Jul 2025	FSMB vs AUSM
MYMG	State Street My2027 Municipal Bond ETF	0.82%	8.63M	Sep 2024	FSMB vs MYMG

Lowest Drawdown Alternatives to FSMB

FSMB has a 1-year max drawdown of -1.29%. There are 25 ETFs in the Municipal Bonds category with shallower 1-year drawdowns, going as shallow as -0.23%.

Symbol	Name	Max Drawdown 1Y	AUM	Inception
FUMB	First Trust Ultra Short Duration Municipal ETF	-0.23%	246.47M	Nov 2018	FSMB vs FUMB
BSMQ	Invesco BulletShares 2026 Municipal Bond ETF	-0.30%	270.83M	Sep 2019	FSMB vs BSMQ
GUMI	Goldman Sachs Ultra Short Municipal Income ETF	-0.36%	54.13M	Jul 2024	FSMB vs GUMI
MYMG	State Street My2027 Municipal Bond ETF	-0.36%	8.63M	Sep 2024	FSMB vs MYMG
IBMO	iShares iBonds Dec 2026 Term Muni Bond ETF	-0.38%	576.01M	Apr 2019	FSMB vs IBMO

Other ETFs from First Trust

The 10 most viewed First Trust ETFs shown here include CIBR, GRID, AIRR and span 16 categories. AUM among these funds goes as high as $25B.

Symbol	Name	Category	Risk / Return Rank	YTD Return	AUM	Inception
CIBR	First Trust NASDAQ Cybersecurity ETF	Cybersecurity, Technology Equities	44	31.78%	14.31B	Jul 2015	FSMB vs CIBR
GRID	First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastru...	Infrastructure Equities, Alternative Energy Equities, Energy Equities	53	19.50%	11.67B	Nov 2009	FSMB vs GRID
AIRR	First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ET...	Building & Construction	63	22.38%	10.18B	Mar 2014	FSMB vs AIRR
NFTY	First Trust India NIFTY 50 Equal Weight ETF	India Equities, Equal Weight, Asia Pacific Equities	9	-5.08%	118.19M	Feb 2012	FSMB vs NFTY
FDL	First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fun...	Large Cap Value Equities, Dividend	92	18.62%	7.77B	Mar 2006	FSMB vs FDL
IGLD	FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF	Gold, Derivative Income, Precious Metals	23	-6.86%	514.13M	Mar 2021	FSMB vs IGLD
FTXL	First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF	Semiconductors, Technology Equities	91	68.79%	1.27B	Sep 2016	FSMB vs FTXL
TDIV	First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund	Technology Equities, Dividend	49	16.55%	4.18B	Aug 2012	FSMB vs TDIV
QCLN	First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index F...	Alternative Energy Equities, Energy Equities	42	13.15%	586.61M	Feb 2007	FSMB vs QCLN
RDVY	First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF	Dividend, Large Cap Blend Equities	88	18.21%	24.89B	Jan 2014	FSMB vs RDVY

Often Compared With FSMB

Investors most often compare FSMB with JMST, SUB, XMMO. These 19 comparison targets span 12 categories, based on PortfoliosLab usage data.

Symbol	Name	Category	Risk / Return Rank	YTD Return	AUM	Inception
JMST	JPMorgan Ultra-Short Municipal Income ETF	Ultrashort Bond	98	1.30%	7.10B	Oct 2018	FSMB vs JMST
SUB	iShares Short-Term National Muni Bond ETF	Municipal Bonds, Short-Term Bond	69	0.81%	11.33B	Nov 2008	FSMB vs SUB
XMMO	Invesco S&P MidCap Momentum ETF	Momentum, Mid Cap Growth Equities	44	13.32%	7.18B	Mar 2005	FSMB vs XMMO
FXAIX	Fidelity 500 Index Fund	S&P 500	59	10.13%	—	Feb 1988	FSMB vs FXAIX
MUB	iShares National AMT-Free Muni Bond ETF	Municipal Bonds	59	0.30%	45.28B	Sep 2007	FSMB vs MUB
VOO	Vanguard S&P 500 ETF	S&P 500	78	11.72%	1.70T	Sep 2010	FSMB vs VOO
PUSH	PGIM Ultra Short Municipal Bond ETF	Municipal Bonds	90	1.58%	106.99M	Jun 2024	FSMB vs PUSH
TSCM	TimesSquare Quality Mid Cap Growth ETF	Quality Factor, Mid Cap Growth Equities	—	4.10%	22.19M	Dec 2025	FSMB vs TSCM
QIS	Simplify Multi-Qis Alternative ETF	Multistrategy	0	-36.27%	38.40M	Jul 2023	FSMB vs QIS
VB	Vanguard Small-Cap ETF	Small Cap Blend Equities	77	16.95%	188.20B	Jan 2004	FSMB vs VB
BOBP	CORE16 Best of Breed Premier Index ETF	Large Cap Blend Equities	35	13.97%	811.78K	May 2025	FSMB vs BOBP
VTES	Vanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond ETF	Municipal Bonds	47	0.43%	2.10B	Mar 2023	FSMB vs VTES
FMUN	Fidelity Systematic Municipal Bond Index ETF	Municipal Bonds	56	0.18%	183.09M	Jul 2019	FSMB vs FMUN
RINT	Russell Investments International Developed Equity...	Foreign Large Cap Equities	61	11.48%	—	May 2025	FSMB vs RINT
AMUN	abrdn Ultra Short Municipal Income Active ETF	Municipal Bonds	—	1.49%	53.18M	Oct 2025	FSMB vs AMUN
PZT	Invesco New York AMT-Free Municipal Bond ETF	Municipal Bonds	59	1.23%	137.45M	Oct 2007	FSMB vs PZT
CA	Xtrackers California Municipal Bond ETF	Municipal Bonds	81	1.20%	21.18M	Dec 2023	FSMB vs CA
MFLX	First Trust Flexible Municipal High Income ETF	Municipal Bonds	75	2.04%	21.20M	Sep 2016	FSMB vs MFLX
KNG	FT Vest S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Target Income...	Dividend, S&P 500	47	9.32%	3.53B	Mar 2018	FSMB vs KNG

Compare FSMB with Any Fund or Stock

Compare FSMB with any ETF, mutual fund, or stock using PortfoliosLab's comparison tool.

Symbol name

Diversifiers

Pair FSMB with funds that move differently

First Trust Short Duration Managed Municipal ETF alternatives help with substitution. Diversifiers are the next step when you want funds with lower historical correlation to FSMB.

Explore FSMB Diversifiers

First Trust Short Duration Managed Municipal ETF (FSMB) Alternatives