Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
SMTH vs VPLS: Differences, Returns & Fees
SMTH's duration was 6.2 years on May 31, 2026 and VPLS's 5.4 on Jun 30, 2026; VPLS charges 0.20% to SMTH's 0.59%.
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Net assets: $2.7bn on May 31, 2026 for ALPS Smith Core Plus Bond ETF, and $2.0bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Core-Plus Bond ETF.
Pair scorecard
VPLS costs 0.39 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.7 points.
| Measure | SMTH | VPLS |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | −1.7% | −1.0% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | No index, actively managed | No index, actively managed |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.59% | 0.20% |
| Net assets, SMTH as of May 31, 2026 and VPLS as of Sep 30, 2026 | $2.7bn | $2.0bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 3% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Dec 15, 2023 to Oct 23, 2026 · 149 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: SMTH against AGG, Dec 15, 2023 to Oct 23, 2026; VPLS against IUSB, Dec 15, 2023 to Oct 23, 2026.
VPLS returned more: +10.7% to +9.1%. SMTH and VPLS swung about the same: 4.6% and 4.7%. VPLS fell less at its worst: −4.1% to −4.6%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | SMTH | VPLS | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +9.1% | +10.7% | VPLS | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +3.1% | +3.6% | VPLS | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | −4.1% | −2.6% | VPLS | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 4.6% | 4.7% | Tie | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 3.4% | 3.5% | Tie | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −4.6% | −4.1% | VPLS | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 96.9% | 102.5% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 94.8% | 99.5% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 0.93 | 1.01 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.97 | 0.99 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | −0.28 | −0.16 | VPLS | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | −0.37 | −0.21 | VPLS | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | −0.014 | −0.007 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.67 | 0.88 | VPLS | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | AGG | IUSB | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +0.2% a year | +0.5% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 0.37 | 1.40 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −0.8% to +1.2% | −0.2% to +1.1% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | 0.32 | 0.80 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 0.9% | 0.5% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 149 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, SMTH and VPLS hold 3% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026.
half
3% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
SMTH and VPLS on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
SMTH and VPLS are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- Holdings in common. 3% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026).
- Number of holdings. SMTH holds 984 positions and VPLS holds 2955.
- Cost. SMTH charges 0.59% of assets a year and VPLS 0.20%, a gap of 0.39 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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SMTH
SMTH is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −1.7% with distributions reinvested, against −1.4% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.59% a year.
VPLS
VPLS is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −1.0% with distributions reinvested, against −1.2% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Universal Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.20% a year.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, SMTH or VPLS?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SMTH returned −1.7% and VPLS −1.0%.
- Which is cheaper, SMTH or VPLS?
- VPLS is cheaper, by 0.39 percentage points a year. That is about $39 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Links are sources, not endorsements. 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.
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ETFIQ, SMTH against VPLS, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/smth-vs-vpls
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). SMTH against VPLS. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/smth-vs-vpls
[SMTH against VPLS (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/smth-vs-vpls)
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