Category Review
Municipal bond funds are down for the year after a third-quarter selloff erased the first-half gain
iShares National Muni Bond ETF
$101.77+0.61 (+0.60%)
- 0.05%
- $48.9B
- −2.2%
- 3.38%
- 7.7M sh
- $100.82
- low $100.07high $109.00
The ETF.net MUB Grade
A
Score 87 out of 100
- 2 of 63
Score 87 of 100 falls in the A 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.A95 out of 100Rank 3 of 63Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A100 out of 100Rank 1 of 59Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.B63 out of 100Rank 8 of 63Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.A74 out of 100Rank 9 of 63Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.A83 out of 100Rank 10 of 63Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A93 out of 100Rank 2 of 63
Our read on MUB
AMunicipal bonds, indexed and cheap. Since 2007, MUB has packaged investment-grade national munis into tax-exempt monthly income for five basis points a year, and it sits among the deepest pools in the muni-ETF aisle.
The fund seeks to track an index of investment-grade U.S. municipal bonds, providing diversified exposure to the national municipal-bond market and tax-exempt income.
Why people hold it
- 0.05% a year against a muni-ETF median near 0.30%. In a category built on modest, tax-exempt yields, that fee gap is real money left in the fund.
- The benchmark is AMT-free: the ICE AMT-Free US National Municipal Index screens out munis whose interest can be pulled into the alternative minimum tax.ishares.com
- Tracks its index closely, one of the tighter jobs in its peer group, and distributes monthly. A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively.
- Broad investment-grade exposure across the national muni market, spread over thousands of issuers rather than one state's budget.ishares.com
Worth knowing
- Two rivals undercut it: VTEB and SCMB both run 0.03%. A two-basis-point gap is small, but it is a gap.
- A bond fund with no maturity date to hold to. Share prices move with interest rates and muni credit conditions, both directions.
- National by design, so no single-state tilt and no in-state tax angle. iShares runs state-specific muni funds such as NYF for that job.
MUB Holdings
- Bonds
- 7,473
- 4%
- BlackRock Liq Municash Class Ins Mmf
Geography
- United States100.00%
MUB Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
MUB$9,776
Returns run to the Oct 12, 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 | MUB |
|---|---|
| Year to date | −3.2% |
| 1 month | −1.7% |
| 3 months | −4.7% |
| 1 year | −2.2% |
| 3 years | +2.7% |
| 5 years | 0.0% |
| 10 years | +1.5% |
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 | MUB |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | −3.2% | |
| 2025 | +3.8% | |
| 2024 | +1.3% | |
| 2023 | +5.6% | |
| 2022 | −7.3% | |
| 2021 | +1.0% | |
| 2020 | +5.1% |
MUB in the news
MUB Dividends
- 3.38%
- $3.42
- $0.28 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
MUB Risk
- 5.4%
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.
- −0.32
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.
- −11.6%
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.
- 0.90
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
MUB Cost
0.05%
MUB0.05%
- The middle half of Other Municipal Bond funds
- Median 0.30%
2 of the 63 Other Municipal Bond funds charge less.
Other funds in Other Municipal Bond
- AVTEBVanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.03%1 year return −2.4%
- ASCMBSchwab Municipal Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.03%1 year return −2.5%
- AVCRMVanguard Core Tax-Exempt Bond EExpense ratio 0.12%1 year return −1.3%
- ATFIState Street SPDR Nuveen ICE Municipal Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.23%1 year return −2.9%
- ACMFiShares California Muni Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.08%1 year return −2.3%