Educational Report: Dimensional National Municipal Bond ETF (DFNM)

The Dimensional National Municipal Bond ETF (DFNM) is designed to provide investors with exposure to national municipal bonds. It focuses on providing regular income through monthly distributions.

What the Numbers Show

As of October 5, 2026, the share price of DFNM was $46.20. To understand how the fund has performed, we look at two different types of returns: price return (the change in share price) and total return (which includes the distributions paid to investors).

• Year-to-Date (YTD): The price return is -4.09%, while the total return is -2.12%.

• One Year: The price return is -3.80%, while the total return is -0.92%.

• Three Year: The price return is -0.41%, while the total return is 8.43%.

An estimated price from roughly one year ago was $48.02.

Income and Distribution Explanation

DFNM is designed for income. It usually pays distributions monthly, with 12 payments made over the last year. The distribution yield is approximately 3.07%.

It is important for beginners to remember that a distribution yield is not the same as a total return. The yield tells you how much cash the fund pays out relative to its price, but it does not account for whether the share price is going up or down. In the one-year data for DFNM, the total return (-0.92%) was higher than the price return (-3.80%), showing that the distributions helped offset some of the share-price decline.

Price and NAV Erosion Explanation

"NAV erosion" happens when the net asset value of a fund's holdings drops over time. The supplied data is sufficient to evaluate price erosion, but it does not include enough historical NAV-per-share data to confirm or rule out NAV erosion.

Looking at price-based evidence, DFNM has an erosion-risk score of 94, which is labeled as "Stable / sideways" with "good" severity. Additionally, the severe erosion-risk flag is false, meaning the fund's price trend did not trigger a high-risk warning.

Pros

• Consistent Payouts: The fund has a history of monthly distributions.

• Price Stability: The erosion-risk score suggests the price has remained relatively stable or moved sideways.

• Positive Long-Term Total Return: The three-year total return is positive at 8.43%.

Cons

• Recent Price Decline: Both the YTD and one-year price returns are negative.

• Negative Short-Term Total Return: The total return for the last year and the current year is negative.

Beginner Takeaway

DFNM is a municipal bond ETF that provides monthly income. While the share price has declined slightly over the last year, the total return is less negative because of the distributions paid to shareholders. Investors often use funds like this for steady income, but they must monitor both the yield and the share price to see the full picture of their investment.