Which returned more over the last year, PMBS or SMBS?

In the year to Oct 9, 2026, with distributions reinvested, PMBS returned −2.0% and SMBS −1.0%.

Which is cheaper, PMBS or SMBS?

SMBS is cheaper, by 0.68 percentage points a year. That is about $68 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Share on X Download as PDF

Compare their flows Ask IQ about these two funds

PMBS vs SMBS: Differences, Returns & Fees

PMBS's duration was 6.3 years on Jun 30, 2026 and SMBS's 5.1 on May 31, 2026; SMBS charges 0.03% to PMBS's 0.71%. Net assets: $1.4bn on Jun 30, 2026 for PIMCO Mortgage-Backed Securities Active Exchange-Traded Fund, and $6.4bn on May 31, 2026 for Schwab Mortgage-Backed Securities ETF.

SMBS costs 0.68 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.0 point.

	PMBS	SMBS
Expense ratio	0.71%	0.03%
Net assets, PMBS as of Jun 30, 2026 and SMBS as of May 31, 2026	$1.4bn	$6.4bn
Total return, 1 year	−2.0%	−1.0%
What it tracks	No index, actively managed	Bloomberg US MBS Float Adjusted Total Return Index
Holdings in common	1%
Below its high	5.9%, high on Feb 27, 2026	4.4%, high on Feb 27, 2026

Holdings in common uses holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026.

−2.0%

PMBS total return, 1 year

−1.0%

SMBS total return, 1 year

0.71%

PMBS expense ratio

0.03%

SMBS expense ratio

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, PMBS and SMBS hold 1% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026.

50%

half

1% in common

Positions both hold, largest shared weight first

Holding PMBS SMBS

Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., due Oct 1, 2054 0.70% 0.35%

Government National Mortgage Association, due Mar 20, 2052 1.23% 0.08%

Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., due Jan 1, 2056 0.64% 0.07%

Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., due Apr 1, 2054 0.52% 0.07%

Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., due Mar 1, 2055 0.36% 0.05%

Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., due Nov 1, 2054 0.27% 0.04%

Government National Mortgage Association, due Nov 20, 2054 0.32% 0.04%

Government National Mortgage Association, due May 20, 2055 0.23% 0.04%

Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., due Mar 1, 2049 0.03% 0.04%

Government National Mortgage Association, due Jan 20, 2055 0.03% 0.03%

Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., due Apr 1, 2049 0.02% 0.05%

Government National Mortgage Association, due Nov 20, 2045 0.01% 0.01%

Only in PMBS

Uniform Mortgage-Backed Security, TBA, due Sep 1, 2056 7.72%

Uniform Mortgage-Backed Security, TBA, due Aug 1, 2056 6.94%

Uniform Mortgage-Backed Security, TBA, due Jul 1, 2056 5.26%

Uniform Mortgage-Backed Security, TBA, due Aug 1, 2056 3.96%

Government National Mortgage Association, due Nov 20, 2055 3.67%

Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., due Mar 1, 2056 3.51%

Uniform Mortgage-Backed Security, TBA, due Aug 1, 2056 3.22%

Uniform Mortgage-Backed Security, TBA, due Aug 1, 2056 3.17%

Only in SMBS

Ginnie Mae II Pool, due Nov 20, 2054 0.47%

Freddie Mac Pool, due Jan 1, 2054 0.29%

Fannie Mae Pool, due May 1, 2051 0.28%

Freddie Mac Pool, due Feb 1, 2052 0.27%

Freddie Mac Pool, due Nov 1, 2050 0.26%

Freddie Mac Pool, due Apr 1, 2056 0.25%

Freddie Mac Pool, due Mar 1, 2052 0.25%

Ginnie Mae II Pool, due Jan 20, 2056 0.24%

Check overlap with more funds →

On the same fields

PMBS

PIMCO Mortgage-Backed Securities Active Exchange-Traded Fund

SMBS

Schwab Mortgage-Backed Securities ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer PIMCO Schwab

What it is Actively managed Tracks an index

Total return, 1 year −2.0% −1.0%

S&P 500 over the same days +17.3% +17.3%

Gap to the S&P 500 −19.3 pts −18.2 pts

Expense ratio 0.71% 0.03%

Holdings 1134 4196

Net assets, PMBS as of Jun 30, 2026 and SMBS as of May 31, 2026 $1.4bn $6.4bn

PMBS and SMBS on the fields both publish, as of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

PMBS in plain words

PMBS is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned −2.0% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.71% a year. It sat 5.9% below its high of Feb 27, 2026 on Oct 9, 2026.

SMBS in plain words

SMBS tracks an index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. It sat 4.4% below its high of Feb 27, 2026 on Oct 9, 2026.

Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned −1.0% with distributions reinvested, against −1.2% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg US MBS Float Adjusted Total Return Index, measured by the closely related Bloomberg U.S. MBS Index.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, PMBS or SMBS?: In the year to Oct 9, 2026, with distributions reinvested, PMBS returned −2.0% and SMBS −1.0%.
Which is cheaper, PMBS or SMBS?: SMBS is cheaper, by 0.68 percentage points a year. That is about $68 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

JMBS vs PMBS FSEC vs PMBS JMTG vs PMBS PMBS vs SPMB FSEC vs SMBS JMBS vs SMBS JMTG vs SMBS SMBS vs SPMB

PMBS on its own →SMBS on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →Standards and sources →

Where these figures came from

PMBS filings on SEC EDGAR ↗PMBS prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗PIMCO website ↗SMBS filings on SEC EDGAR ↗SMBS prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗Schwab website ↗

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure; a link is not an endorsement. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, PMBS against SMBS, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/pmbs-vs-smbs

Open data

Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.