BKLN vs VTEB: Performance, Holdings, Fees & Risk
BKLN and VTEB are ETFs, but they can differ materially in exposure, yield, fees and risk. BKLN is Invesco Senior Loan ETF, while VTEB is Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF. VTEB is broader by holdings count, with 10,660 positions versus 165 for BKLN. BKLN is more concentrated at the top, based on top-10 holdings weight. Current AlgovestIQ evidence has VTEB ahead on AIQ Score, 60 versus 47.
What is the main difference between BKLN and VTEB?
VTEB holds 10,660 positions to BKLN's 165, and 0% of their weight is in the same securities.
| Metric | BKLN | VTEB |
|---|---|---|
| Fund | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.67% | 0.03% |
| Holdings | 165 | 10,660 |
| Top-10 concentration | 20.2% | 1.4% |
| Distribution yieldTrailing 12 months | 6.44% | 3.54% |
| Average volume | 8,934,347 | 15,977,970 |
| Performance | ||
| 1Y return | -2.5% | -5% |
| YTD return | -3.3% | -4.6% |
| 5Y annualized returnTotal return, distributions reinvested | +5.4% | +0.3% |
| Risk | ||
| Annualized volatility | 3.3% | 3.6% |
| Max drawdown (1Y) | -4% | -8.2% |
| Max drawdown (5Y)Total return, distributions reinvested | -7.3% | -12.3% |
| Beta | 0.11 | 0.09 |
| Sharpe ratio | -1.96 | -2.51 |
| Sortino ratio | -2.26 | -3.08 |
| AlgovestIQ | ||
| AIQ Score | 47/100 | 60/100 |
| AIQ Edge Score | 3/10 | 8/10 |
| Momentum | 28/100 | 56/100 |
| Risk Resilience | 64/100 | 90/100 |
AlgovestIQ AIQ Comparison
Invesco Senior Loan ETF vs Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF
VTEB leads
VTEB leads by 13 AIQ points, primarily on Momentum and Risk Resilience, and the lead has widened from 6 points over 30 sessions.
Competitive: 2 of 4 evidence groups support VTEB, its lead is widening, and its current signal state is conflicted.
Invesco Senior Loan ETF
Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF
The Algovestiq AIQ Score currently favors VTEB over BKLN, 60 versus 47 as of Oct 22, 2026. VTEB's advantage is driven primarily by stronger momentum and risk resilience. VTEB also shows the stronger technical structure relative to its 50-day moving average. 2 of 4 covered evidence groups favor VTEB today, and the comparison is rated Competitive on stability: only 2 of 4 covered evidence groups agree. VTEB lead: Strengthening — the AIQ differential moved from 6 to 13 points over 30 sessions.
Compare Invesco Senior Loan ETF and Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF across performance, expense ratio, dividend yield, drawdown, volatility and the Algovestiq AIQ Score.
BKLN vs VTEB: which fits what
Each row is settled by a single measure. Where the gap is too small to matter it reads Similar, and no row decides the comparison as a whole.
| If you want | BKLN | VTEB | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower costExpense ratio | 0.67% | 0.03% | VTEB |
| Broader diversificationNumber of holdings | 165 | 10,660 | VTEB |
| Lower concentrationWeight of the 10 largest holdings | 20.2% | 1.4% | VTEB |
| Higher incomeTrailing 12-month distribution yield | 6.44% | 3.54% | BKLN |
| Smaller drawdownsMax drawdown, 5 years | -7.3% | -12.3% | BKLN |
| Lower volatilityAnnualized volatility, 1 year | 3.3% | 3.6% | Similar |
Similar means the gap is within 0.01 percentage points of expense ratio, 25% more holdings, 3 points of top-10 weight, 0.2 points of yield, 2 points of drawdown or 1 point of volatility. Past drawdowns and volatility describe the funds’ history, not their future.
Performance over time
Total return with distributions reinvested, from daily closes for both ETFs.
Total return comparison
Growth of $10,000, distributions reinvested
Split-adjusted closes; each distribution is reinvested at the close on its ex-dividend date. Taxes and trading costs are not modeled.
Compare BKLN and VTEB against another ticker
Open a multi-ticker workspace without changing this focused pair page.
AIQ Factor Divergence
Where the two separate, on the four dimensions behind the AIQ Score. Bars read outward from a shared zero: further from the centre is a wider gap.
- Momentum28 vs 56VTEB +28
- Risk Resilience64 vs 90VTEB +26
- Quality66 vs 74VTEB +8
- Value36 vs 36Even
2 of 4 evidence groups favor VTEB. VTEB’s edge is concentrated in momentum and risk resilience.
What changed since the last close
Latest scored session 2026-10-20, compared against the prior scored session 2026-10-19.
No factor moved materially.
No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 7 active signals are unchanged.
Largest factor move: Momentum -3
No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 6 active signals are unchanged.
VTEB's lead narrowed by 1 AIQ point in the latest session.
Deeper signal detail for each name lives on its own signals page — BKLN and VTEB both carry a full feed there.
The central trade-off
VTEB (Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF): the stronger current systematic profile, led by momentum and risk resilience.
BKLN (Invesco Senior Loan ETF): the counter-case, on technicals.
Fund facts, side by side
Two funds tracking overlapping universes are separated by cost and risk far more than by holdings. Those lead here.
| Measure | BKLN | VTEB | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.67% | 0.03% | Lower is better — it compounds against you every year you hold. |
| Holdings | 165 | 10,660 | More holdings means broader diversification, not better returns. |
| Average volume | 8,934,347 | 15,977,970 | Liquidity — matters most if you trade size. |
| Annualized volatility | 3.3% | 3.6% | Lower is a steadier ride for the same exposure. |
| Max drawdown (1Y) | -4% | -8.2% | The worst peak-to-trough loss over the past year. |
| Sharpe ratio | -1.96 | -2.51 | Return per unit of risk. Higher is better. |
| Beta | 0.11 | 0.09 | Sensitivity to the broad market. Neither direction is better — it depends on the role in your portfolio. |
Where the exposure actually sits
Sector exposure for each fund, ordered by the size of the difference.
How much of the same holdings they own
BKLN and VTEB share 0% of their weighted exposure across 0 common holdings.
161 holdings are unique to BKLN, and 10,659 holdings are unique to VTEB. Owning both is genuinely additive — most of the capital sits in different securities.
BKLN is the more concentrated of the two: its ten largest positions are 20.18% of the fund, against 1.36% for VTEB (165 holdings vs 10,660). Concentration cuts both ways — it is what drives outperformance when the top names work, and what makes the drawdown deeper when they do not.
What BKLN adds that VTEB doesn’t
| Holding | BKLN | VTEB |
|---|---|---|
| Invesco Premier US Government Money Portfolio | 6.91% | Not held |
| Discovery Global Holdings Inc 6.19% 06/30/2033 | 1.75% | Not held |
| Hopper Merger Sub Inc 5.99% 04/07/2033 | 1.73% | Not held |
| UKG Inc 6.07% 02/10/2031 | 1.55% | Not held |
| Sedgwick Claims Management Services Inc 6.19% 07/31/2031 | 1.42% | Not held |
| Peraton Corp 7.67% 02/01/2028 | 1.4% | Not held |
What VTEB adds that BKLN doesn’t
| Holding | VTEB | BKLN |
|---|---|---|
| Vanguard Municipal Low Duration Fund 12/31/2049 | 0.5% | Not held |
| City of New York NY 5.00% 08/01/2034 | 0.12% | Not held |
| University of California 5.00% 05/15/2036 | 0.11% | Not held |
| State of Idaho 4.00% 06/30/2027 | 0.1% | Not held |
| State of California 5.25% 08/01/2032 | 0.1% | Not held |
| State of Maryland 5.00% 06/01/2038 | 0.09% | Not held |
Each list is a fund’s largest positions by weight that the other fund does not hold, or holds at less than half the weight.
AIQ Agreement Matrix
2 of 4 covered evidence groups favor VTEB. A wide gap backed by one group is a weaker case than a narrow gap backed by five.
| Evidence group | Favors | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| AIQ Score | VTEB | 47 vs 60 |
| Fundamentals | Not covered | Not covered |
| Valuation | Even | Value 36 vs 36 |
| Technicals | BKLN | Price vs 50-day -1% vs -0.9%; vs 200-day -1.2% vs -3.7% |
| Risk Resilience | VTEB | Risk Resilience 64 vs 90 |
| Analyst expectations | Not covered | Not covered |
✓ agrees with the overall verdict · ✕ points the other way. Groups marked “not covered” lack data on one or both of BKLN and VTEB and are excluded from the count.
AIQ Decision Stability
The two are close enough that your objective, not the score, should decide.
- The AIQ gap is wide at 13 points. (supports the conclusion holding)
- Only 2 of 4 covered evidence groups agree. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
- The leader's advantage has been widening. (supports the conclusion holding)
- The leader is throwing conflicting signals. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
Stability combines the score gap, how broadly the evidence agrees, how steady the lead has been across daily snapshots, the current signal state on both names, and analyst dispersion on VTEB.
How the comparison changed
120 daily snapshots · Jun 21 – Oct 20VTEB lead: Strengthening — the AIQ differential moved from 6 to 13 points over 30 sessions.
- Today
- VTEB +13
- 47 vs 60
- 7 sessions ago
- VTEB +10
- 49 vs 59
- 30 sessions ago
- VTEB +6
- 47 vs 53
- 90 sessions ago
- BKLN +3
- 58 vs 55
The lead changed hands 6 times in this window, most recently on Sep 24 when VTEB moved ahead of BKLN.
AIQ Signal Divergence
Only the signals that bear on the head-to-head. A conflicted name is carrying bullish and bearish rules at the same time — the technical evidence is not pointing one way.
1 bullish / 5 bearish / 1 neutral, conflicted
Only BKLN
- BB Lower Band Breach — bullish, volatility, short horizon
- Keltner Channel Breakdown — bearish, volatility, short horizon
- MACD Bearish Crossover — bearish, momentum, short horizon
1 bullish / 3 bearish / 2 neutral, conflicted
Only VTEB
- Bollinger Band Squeeze — neutral, volatility, short horizon
- MACD Bullish Crossover — bullish, momentum, short horizon
Both carry 4 more signals that do not separate them: Death Cross Active, ATR Contraction - Coiling, 52-Week Low Proximity, Downtrend Structure Active.
VTEB leads the comparison while carrying a conflicted signal state, which is one reason the stability rating is not higher.
Price vs model alignment
Whether the latest session's price move confirms what the model did over the same session, or contradicts it.
Neither the price nor the AIQ Score moved enough in the latest session to confirm or contradict the other (price +0.1%, AIQ 0 points).
Neither the price nor the AIQ Score moved enough in the latest session to confirm or contradict the other (price +0.08%, AIQ -1 points).
What would flip this result
A state, not a forecast. These are the specific, observable changes that would reverse the verdict — not a price prediction.
- 1BKLN closes the Momentum gap — currently 28 points behind, the largest single contributor to VTEB's edge.
- 2BKLN's Death Cross Active resolves — a bearish trend rule currently active against it.
- 3VTEB's conflicting signal state resolves bearish — it currently carries 1 bullish and 3 bearish rules at once.
- 4A regime shift changes factor weighting — Quality and Value carry the heaviest weights in the composite, so a rotation toward either would move the result most.
The full evidence
Every number behind the verdict. The leader is called above each group so you are not left to solve it from the table.
Performance
BKLN leads 4 of 6 windows| Metric | BKLN | VTEB |
|---|---|---|
| 1 week (5 sessions) | -0.8% | 0.7% |
| 1 month (20 sessions) | -1.3% | -0.5% |
| 3 months (63 sessions) | -0.4% | -3.7% |
| 6 months (126 sessions) | -1.2% | -4.8% |
| Year to date | -3.3% | -4.6% |
| 1 year (252 sessions) | -2.5% | -5% |
Technicals
BKLN has the stronger structure| Metric | BKLN | VTEB |
|---|---|---|
| RSI (14) | 34.1 | 66.7 |
| ADX (14) | 28.2 | 35 |
| Price vs 50-day | -1% | -0.9% |
| Price vs 200-day | -1.2% | -3.7% |
| Volatility (1M, annualized) | 2.9% | 7.3% |
Risk
VTEB is the more resilient| Metric | BKLN | VTEB |
|---|---|---|
| Beta | 0.11 | 0.09 |
| Sharpe ratio | -1.96 | -2.51 |
| Sortino ratio | -2.26 | -3.08 |
| Max drawdown | -4% | -8.2% |
| Current drawdown | -3.6% | -6.2% |
| Annualized volatility | 3.3% | 3.6% |
| Value at risk (95%) | -0.4% | -0.5% |
Straight answers
Short answers to the questions fund investors ask about this pair, from the figures above.
What is the difference between BKLN and VTEB?
VTEB holds 10,660 positions to BKLN's 165, and 0% of their weight is in the same securities.
How much do BKLN and VTEB overlap?
BKLN and VTEB share 0% of their weighted exposure across 0 common holdings. 161 holdings are unique to BKLN, and 10,659 holdings are unique to VTEB. Owning both is genuinely additive — most of the capital sits in different securities.
Which ETF is more diversified, BKLN or VTEB?
VTEB holds more positions: 10,660 versus 165 for BKLN.
Which has the lower expense ratio?
VTEB has the lower expense ratio, 0.03% a year against 0.67% for BKLN.
Which ETF has the higher distribution yield?
BKLN, with a trailing 12-month distribution yield of 6.44% against 3.54% for VTEB.
Which ETF has been more volatile?
Their volatility over the past year is similar: 3.3% annualized for BKLN and 3.6% for VTEB.
Which ETF has had the smaller drawdown?
BKLN fell less from peak to trough over the past five years: -7.3% against -12.3% for VTEB.
Compare BKLN and VTEB with others
Continue your research
This page answers which of the two. These answer the questions on either side of it.
How this comparison is scored
The Algovestiq AIQ Score composites four factors — Quality, Value, Momentum and Risk, each carrying a fixed weight. Sentiment is reported separately as SentimentPulse and is not folded into the composite. Scores refresh every trading day, and this page regenerates from the latest snapshot rather than being written once.
The verdict names a leader, states how broadly six independent evidence groups agree, and rates how durable that conclusion is given the score gap, its recent trajectory and the current signal state on both names.
How to use side-by-side comparison →This comparison is informational and educational, not investment advice. AIQ scores update daily; re-check after earnings, guidance or macro data that materially changes either name’s factor profile.