VMBS bid-ask spread and liquidity

Vanguard Mortgage-Backed Securities ETF
BondsVanguard$15.5bn net assets0.03% fee
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As of Oct 22, 2026, VMBS closed +0.20% from its NAV, and on 95% of the 5 days to then it was within ±0.20%.

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Ask IQ about VMBS bid-ask spread and liquidity

Answers cite the figures on this page.

OverviewHoldingsDividendsTradingFlowsCompare

IQ Liquidity Score

1 of 6 measured · Oct 22, 2026
·
Not scored
0 · Hard to trade100 · Trades like a giant

The IQ Liquidity Score: a fixed 0 to 100 scale of trading conditions, the same anchors for every fund; 100 is the easiest to trade. It measures how cheaply and reliably the fund trades, not whether to own it. Method →

Cost to trade
Not measured · the issuer's 30-day median spread is not read for this fund
·
Capacity
Not measured · its holdings are bonds, which have no volume source here
·
Price fidelity
Not measured · 5 days of closing premium are held, under the 20 needed
·
Primary market
8 active dealers of 38; largest 67% of creations and redemptions, N-CEN to Aug 31, 2025
85.0
Bad-day behaviour
Not measured · 0 of the 10 worst days and 5 other days are held, under the 5 and 60 needed
·
Depth
Not measured · needs trade and quote data (Phase 2)
·

Premium or discount to value

Daily, 5 days to Oct 22, 2026 · the ±1% band marked
VMBS premium or discount to NAV, 5 days+1%0−1%Oct 16, 2026Oct 22, 2026
Latest close, Oct 22
+0.20%
95% of days within
±0.20%
Days more than 1% from NAV
0 of 5
Widest
+0.20%, Oct 22, 2026

Close against the NAV its issuer struck the same day, from the issuer. Source: ETFIQ.

Capacity

What the holdings can absorb a day

Not measured: its holdings are bonds, which have no volume source here.

Dealers

Authorized participants · N-CEN, the year to Aug 31, 2025
Active dealers
8
of 38 authorized
Largest
67%
of creations and redemptions
One dealer
No
8 active

8 of 38 authorized participants created or redeemed VMBS shares in the year to Aug 31, 2025. From the fund’s Form N-CEN, filed Nov 12, 2025.

The active authorized participants, largest first, by share of the dollars created and redeemed: J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (66.9%), Jane Street Capital, LLC (14.5%), Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (10.1%), Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corp. (3.1%), Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (2.4%), Virtu Americas LLC (2.3%), Macquarie Capital (USA) Inc. (0.4%), BMO Capital Markets Corp. (0.3%). 30 more were listed and created or redeemed nothing.

How to trade VMBS

To buy or to sell, up to $100,000
When
ETF spreads are usually widest in the first minutes after the open and the last before the close.
Watch
The premium. On 95% of days it is within ±0.20%; beyond that a buyer pays more, and a seller gets less, than the holdings are worth.
Phase 2 · drawn now, filled when trade data arrives
Spread through the dayComing with trade data

Median spread by half hour, 30 days.

Buyers against sellersComing with trade data

Share of volume at the ask against at the bid.

Retail flow, estimatedComing with trade data

Sub-penny prints as a share of volume.

Large tradesComing with trade data

Prints above $500k, count and share.

Closing auctionComing with trade data

Share of the day’s volume at the close.

Questions people ask

Does VMBS trade at a premium or discount to NAV?

It closed +0.20% from its NAV on Oct 22, 2026. On 95% of the 5 days to then it was within ±0.20%, and it closed more than 1% from NAV on 0 of them.

Who is the AP for VMBS?

VMBS’s latest Form N-CEN, for the period ending Aug 31, 2025, lists 38 authorized participants (APs), and 8 created or redeemed shares. The largest were J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (66.9%), Jane Street Capital, LLC (14.5%), Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (10.1%) of the dollars its APs created and redeemed.

Who is the LMM for VMBS?

VMBS’s lead market maker (LMM) on Nasdaq is Susquehanna Securities, LLC. Lead market maker per Nasdaq, as of Oct 23, 2026.
Sources and dates
Premium to NAVETFIQ, close against the issuer’s NAV · Oct 16, 2026 to Oct 22, 2026
DealersForm N-CEN · the year to Aug 31, 2025
Where to next
ETF trading costs and liquidity→Cost-to-trade checker→Why low volume does not mean illiquidguide →Limit orders vs market orders for ETFsguide →How the IQ Liquidity Score is builtmethod →VMBS fund page→
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, VMBS trading: cost, capacity, premium and dealers, data as of Oct 22, 2026. https://etfiq.com/funds/vmbs/trading/

Open data →

The score measures trading conditions, not the fund. ETFIQ makes no recommendations.