What this ETF is trying to do

The Virtus NewFleet Securitized Income ETF (VABS) is an exchange-traded fund that focuses on providing income to investors. It is designed to hold securitized assets, which are groups of loans or debts bundled together to create a financial instrument.

What the numbers show

As of September 18, 2026, the share price of VABS was $24.01. To understand how the fund has performed, we look at two different types of returns: price return (the change in the share price) and total return (which includes both the share price change and the distributions paid out).

• Year-to-Date (YTD): The price return is -1.01%, but the total return is 2.08%.

• One Year: The price return is -1.82%, while the total return is 3.05%.

• Three Year: The price return is 2.45%, and the total return is 18.79%.

An estimated price from roughly one year ago was $24.45. If you had invested $10,000 based on that estimated price, the price-only decline of -1.82% would mean your principal was worth approximately $9,818 before considering any cash distributions.

Income and distribution explanation

VABS pays out cash to investors, usually on a monthly basis. Over the last 12 months, it made 12 payouts totaling $1.17 per share. This results in a distribution yield of 4.89%.

It is important for beginners to know that a high distribution yield alone can be misleading. A fund can pay out a high yield even if the share price is falling. In this case, the total return is higher than the price return because the cash distributions added value that the share price alone did not show.

NAV erosion explanation

"NAV erosion" happens when the net asset value (the actual value of the fund's holdings) steadily declines over time. Investors who want steady income care about principal stability because they don't want their original investment to disappear while they collect checks.

VABS 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 severe warning.

Pros

• Positive Total Returns: Over the one-year and three-year periods, the total returns were positive.

• Consistent Income: The fund typically pays distributions every month.

• Stable Risk Score: The erosion-risk measurement is currently rated as good.

Cons

• Negative Price Returns: Both the year-to-date and one-year price returns are negative, meaning the share price itself has dropped.

• No Holdings Data: There are currently no top holdings listed for this fund in the provided data.

Beginner takeaway

VABS is a fund that provides monthly income. While the share price has dipped slightly over the last year, the total return remains positive because of the distributions paid to shareholders. Always look at both the price return and the total return to see the full picture.