Board/The rate regime/SMBS

SMBS

Schwab Mortgage-Backed Securities ETF

Schwab · $6.10bn in assets, October 8, 2026

Owns fixed-rate US agency mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, following the Bloomberg US MBS Float Adjusted Index.

SMBS, the Schwab Mortgage-Backed Securities ETF, is a $6.1 billion ETF whose main story is the rate regime. Over the past year it returned −2.0%, against +16.8% for broad US ETFs. Figures to October 2, 2026; past performance, not a recommendation.

SMBS · the ETFFRI OCT 2Market price total return
+2.4% a yearTotal return since launch, November 2024
−2.0%Last 12 months
−3.2%Year to date
4.9%Volatility since launch

The narrative it carries

This is its only narrative.

The rate regime →

Bonds, cash and Treasuries: the interest rates every other asset is priced against.

The rate regime · the narrative this week
57.8HOT level, 3 of 22
last four weeks
424ETFs carry it
27.8%held by the top five
BNDlargest holder, 7.6%
$1,607 bncapital, 2nd of 22

The band is where this narrative’s level sits among the 22 this week. QUIET means less talked about, not falling.

Who owns the capital
BND 7.6%SGOV 7.5%AGG 6.3%BIL 3.3%TLT 3.1%419 other ETFs 72.2%27.8%top five
#ETFSHAREASSETS1 YEARCOST
1BND7.6%$161.78bn−2.1%0.03%
2SGOV7.5%$112.26bn+3.8%0.09%
3AGG6.3%$135.65bn−2.2%0.03%
4BIL3.3%$49.79bn+3.7%0.14%
5TLT3.1%$46.23bn−9.5%0.15%
419 other ETFs72.2%
SMBS: 0.4%

Share is each ETF’s slice of the capital carrying this narrative. 1 year is market price total return; cost is the expense ratio. See all 424 ETFs on the narrative page →

FRI OCT 2MARKET PRICE TOTAL RETURN

1M3MYTD1Y3Y*5Y*
SMBS−3.1%−4.2%−3.2%−2.0%––
The rate regimeits narrative−1.6%−2.2%−1.2%−0.6%+4.3%+0.5%
The marketbroad US ETFs+0.8%+2.6%+14.6%+16.8%+22.9%+12.9%

1M, 3M, 1Y, 3Y, 5Y: one month to five years. YTD: year to date. * A year, annualised. A dash means the ETF has not traded for the whole period. Since it started trading on November 19, 2024: +2.4% a year.

$10,000 invested November 30, 2024

SMBS $10,311The rate regime $10,380The market $13,001
$0$10,000$20,000Nov 2024May 2025Nov 2025May 2026$0$10,000$20,000Nov 2024Nov 2025

Year by year

SMBSThe rate regimeThe market
-10%0%10%20%SMBS 2025: +8.1%Narrative 2025: +6.2%The market 2025: +16.8%2025SMBS YTD: -3.2%Narrative YTD: -1.2%The market YTD: +14.6%YTD-10%0%10%20%SMBS 2025: +8.1%Narrative 2025: +6.2%The market 2025: +16.8%2025SMBS YTD: -3.2%Narrative YTD: -1.2%The market YTD: +14.6%YTD

Total return in each calendar year; this year is year to date. A year appears only if SMBS traded for all of it.

Total return on the market price, with each distribution reinvested on its ex-date. Not the NAV return the issuer publishes; the two differ when the ETF trades above or below the value of its holdings. The narrative is the asset-weighted return of the unlevered ETFs that carry it. The market is the asset-weighted return of broad US index ETFs. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Common questions

What story is SMBS selling?

SMBS’s main story is the rate regime, which covers bonds, cash and Treasuries: the interest rates every other asset is priced against.

Which ETFs compete with SMBS?

The ETFs whose weekly returns move most like SMBS’s over the past 3 years are VMBS (0.98), SPMB (0.98) and JMBS (0.98).

How has SMBS performed against its story?

Over the past year SMBS returned −2.0%, the ETFs carrying the rate regime −0.6% and broad US ETFs +16.8%, to October 2, 2026. Its weekly returns have a correlation of 0.97 with the story. Past performance only.

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Narrative figures are from the weekly board. Performance is market price total return as of October 2, 2026. Assets are StoryVector’s weekly figure. Classification and measurement. Not investment advice. How the measurement works →