iShares Short Maturity Municipal Bond Active ETF
$49.80−0.10 (−0.21%)
- Expense ratio
- 0.26%
- Fund size
- $1.4B
- 1Y return
- +1.5%
- Yield · Last 12 months
- 2.83%
- Holdings
- 264
- Volume · 30D
- 0.2M sh
- NAV per share
- $49.91
- 52W range
The ETF.net MEAR Grade
Score 66 of 100 sits in the B band. Bands: A ≥ 70, B ≥ 55, C ≥ 40, D ≥ 25, F < 25; the scale skips E.
Cost
What you pay to own it — the expense ratio plus trading frictions, ranked within its category.CScore 43Category rankMission
How faithfully it does the job it claims — tracking its mandate or index with minimal slippage.AScore 100Category rankRisk
How violently it can move — volatility, drawdown depth, and downside capture versus its category.BScore 62Category rankTradability
How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.BScore 66Category rankHoldings
What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.BScore 59Category rankDurability
Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.AScore 83Category rank
Our read on MEAR
BActive muni investing at the short end. Since 2015, iShares has hand-picked roughly 300 short-term municipal bonds here, chasing income exempt from federal tax and the AMT in a corner of the market most rivals index.
The Fund seeks to maximize tax-free current income through active management of short-term municipal securities. It generally invests at least 80% of assets in municipal securities whose interest is exempt from U.S. federal income tax and the federal AMT.
Why people hold it
- Costs 0.26% a year, below the typical muni ETF, and that buys a manager picking bonds rather than a rulebook.
- At least 80% of assets sit in bonds whose interest is exempt from federal income tax and the federal AMT, spread across about 300 positions.ishares.com
- Short maturities mean milder price swings when rates move than long-dated muni portfolios face.
- A multi-billion-dollar fund that changes hands steadily, which tends to keep bid-ask costs contained.
Worth knowing
- Index muni funds go far cheaper: VTEB at 0.03% and MUB at 0.05%. Active security selection is the thing you are paying the difference for.
- No index to check the work against. Outcomes ride on the manager's credit and maturity calls.
- Payouts land on an irregular schedule, and the tax break is federal. State and local taxes can still apply.
MEAR Holdings
- Bonds
- 264
- 16%
- ST JAMES PARISH LA REV 11/01/2040
Geography
- United States100.00%
MEAR Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
Returns run to the Sep 22, 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.
| Period | MEAR |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +1.0% |
| 1 month | −0.4% |
| 3 months | −0.2% |
| 1 year | +1.5% |
| 3 years | +3.2% |
| 5 years | +2.4% |
| 10 years | +1.8% |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | MEAR |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +1.0% | |
| 2025 | +3.8% | |
| 2024 | +3.4% | |
| 2023 | +3.9% | |
| 2022 | +0.1% | |
| 2021 | +0.1% | |
| 2020 | +1.2% |
MEAR in the news
ETF.net Research hasn’t filed on MEAR yet — coverage lands here as it’s written.
MEAR Dividends
- 2.83%
- $1.41
- $0.12 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
| Ex-date | Pay date | Amount per share |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2026 | Sep 4, 2026 | $0.12 |
| Aug 3, 2026 | Aug 6, 2026 | $0.12 |
| Jul 1, 2026 | Jul 7, 2026 | $0.12 |
| Jun 1, 2026 | Jun 4, 2026 | $0.11 |
| May 1, 2026 | May 6, 2026 | $0.13 |
| Apr 1, 2026 | Apr 7, 2026 | $0.11 |
| Mar 2, 2026 | Mar 5, 2026 | $0.11 |
| Feb 2, 2026 | Feb 5, 2026 | $0.10 |
| Dec 19, 2025 | Dec 24, 2025 | $0.12 |
| Dec 1, 2025 | Dec 4, 2025 | $0.12 |
| Nov 3, 2025 | Nov 6, 2025 | $0.12 |
| Oct 1, 2025 | Oct 6, 2025 | $0.12 |
MEAR Risk
- 0.8%
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.
- −1.61
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.
- −1.0%
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.
- 0.10
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
MEAR Cost
- The middle half of Short-Duration Municipal Bonds funds
- Median 0.25%
17 of the 27 Short-Duration Municipal Bonds funds charge less.