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Launched

iShares Mortgage-Backed Securities Active ETF

MBBACboeiSharesC

$48.11−0.15 (−0.31%)

At close: Nov 2, 2026, 4:00 PM ET

C54/ 100

Rank 9 of 25 in Mortgage-Backed Securities

C54/100Rank 9 of 25inMortgage-Backed Securities
Intraday session: down, 79 prints from 48.26 to 48.11. Range 47.94 to 48.17. Use the arrow keys to read each point.47.9548.0048.0548.1548.2010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.25%*
Fund size
$762M
1Y total return
No data
Yield · Last 12 months
No data
Holdings
691
Avg volume · 30D
168K sh
52W range
low $46.32high $54.68
Launched

*After a fee waiver that ends Jun 30, 2028. Without it: 0.26%.

The ETF.net MBBA Grade

C

Score 54 out of 100

Category
Mortgage-Backed Securities⁠
Rank
9 of 25
Six-pillar profile for MBBA. Scores out of 100: Cost 69, Risk 23, Mission 51, Tradability 67, Holdings 39, Durability 81. Strongest: Durability (81). Weakest: Risk (23). Leans toward Durability.

Score 54 of 100 falls in the C band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.

  • Cost

    The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.
    B69 out of 100
    Rank 8 of 25

  • Mission

    Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.
    C51 out of 100
    Rank 12 of 21

  • Risk

    How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.
    F23 out of 100
    Rank 24 of 25

  • Tradability

    How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.
    B67 out of 100
    Rank 8 of 25

  • Holdings

    How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.
    D39 out of 100
    Rank 18 of 25

  • Durability

    Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.
    A81 out of 100
    Rank 4 of 25

Our read on MBBA

ETF.net Research

In short

CActive management aimed at the plumbing of the mortgage market: iShares gives a manager room to pick agency MBS instead of mirroring the Bloomberg U.S. MBS Index, and charges less than the typical fund in this corner to do it.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks to maximize total return while generating income and applying prudent investment management.

Why people hold it

  • Runs at 0.25% a year, under the 0.35% typical of MBS funds in its group. Active mandates usually charge up from the index, not down toward it.
  • The mandate: maximize total return while generating income. The Bloomberg U.S. MBS Index is the yardstick, not a leash the manager has to hug bond for bond.
  • Spread across roughly 500 US mortgage bonds in a plain 1940 Act open-end fund. No K-1, no derivative wrapper, no offshore structure to decode.
  • Fund inception dates to 1998, meaning this mortgage playbook was running long before most of the ETFs it now sits beside existed.

Worth knowing

  • Cheap for active, still pricier than the index route: MBB, VMBS and SPMB all sit at a few basis points. Here you are paying for a manager's calls.
  • Because it is active, there is no tracking record to audit, and only a short window of risk history exists. Less to measure than a long-running tracker.
  • Smaller and more lightly traded than the index heavyweights in the MBS category, which is where limit orders earn their keep.

MBBA Performance

Launched May 18, 1998

Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.

Not enough history yet.Not enough history yet.Not enough history yet.Not enough history yet.Not enough history yet.
MBBA$9,981
SPY tracks large US stocks. It provides market context, rather than representing this fund’s strategy, asset class or investment benchmark.$10,093
Jul 31, 2026 to Nov 2, 2026. MBBA $9,981. SPY $10,093. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$9,750$10,000$10,250$10,500Jul 2026Sep 2026Nov 2026

Jul 31, 2026 – Nov 2, 2026

Returns run to the Nov 2, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.

Trailing total return for MBBA. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodMBBA
Year to dateHistory unavailableNo data
1 month+3.0%
3 months−0.2%
1 yearHistory unavailableNo data
3 yearsHistory unavailableper yearNo data
5 yearsHistory unavailableper yearNo data
10 yearsHistory unavailableper yearNo data

With distributions reinvested.

Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.

Annual total returns for MBBA
YearReturn barMBBA
2026 YTD−0.5%

History from Jan 27, 2026

MBBA in the news

MBBA Dividends

Upcoming payment
$0.19 per share
Pays on
Shares bought on or after this date do not qualify for this distribution.
Frequency
Monthly

Distribution data unavailable.

Distribution history

2026

One bar per payment. 9 payments in 2026 YTD. Mar 2, 2026 $0.31; Apr 1, 2026 $0.20; May 1, 2026 $0.20; Jun 1, 2026 $0.20; Jul 1, 2026 $0.18; Aug 3, 2026 $0.19; Sep 1, 2026 $0.19; Oct 1, 2026 $0.07; Nov 2, 2026 $0.19. Use the arrow keys to read each point.2026YTD
Ex-datePay dateAmount per share
Nov 2, 2026Pays Nov 5, 2026$0.19
Oct 1, 2026Oct 6, 2026$0.07
Sep 1, 2026Sep 4, 2026$0.19
Aug 3, 2026Aug 6, 2026$0.19
Jul 1, 2026Jul 7, 2026$0.18
Jun 1, 2026Jun 4, 2026$0.20
May 1, 2026May 6, 2026$0.20
Apr 1, 2026Apr 7, 2026$0.20
Mar 2, 2026Mar 5, 2026$0.31

MBBA Risk

Risk pillarF23 out of 100Rank 24 of 25 in Mortgage-Backed Securities
How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
No data available
How it’s calculated: standard deviation

The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.

Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.

Return above 3-month US Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
No data available
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio

Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.

Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.

Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.

The largest fall from a peak to the low that followed.
No data available
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown

The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.

Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.

How strongly the fund’s returns move with its asset-class index.
1.10
vs its asset-class index
How it’s calculated: beta

The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.

FMP measures it over up to five years of monthly returns.

MBBA Cost

Compare MBBA and VMBS

Overpaying vs VMBS, tied cheapest in Mortgage-Backed Securities

$4,521

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

  • MBBA 0.25%

    $5,159

  • VMBS 0.03% Tied cheapest

    $638

$10,000
30 years

Cost over time

  • MBBA 0.25%
  • VMBS 0.03%
  • Overpaying
One line per fund, from year 0 to year 30. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$0$2K$4K$6K051015202530MBBA $5,159VMBS $638

Year by year

YearMBBAVMBSOverpaying
10$455$55$400
20$1,769$216$1,553
30$5,159$638$4,521
How the 0.25% is worked out

Full fee 0.26%− waiver 0.01%= you pay 0.25%

The waiver ends Jun 30, 2028. After that the fee is 0.26% unless iShares renews it. Source: prospectus, Aug 2026.

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