Category Review
Municipal bond funds are down for the year after a third-quarter selloff erased the first-half gain
Columbia Multi-Sector Municipal Income ETF
$19.32+0.04 (+0.21%)
- 0.23%
- $502M
- −2.8%
- 3.58%
- 0.2M sh
- $19.20
- low $18.85high $21.10
The ETF.net MUST Grade
B
Score 59 out of 100
- 26 of 63
Score 59 of 100 falls in the B 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.A77 out of 100Rank 15 of 63Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.C49 out of 100Rank 56 of 59Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.C43 out of 100Rank 42 of 63Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.C44 out of 100Rank 38 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.C49 out of 100Rank 39 of 63
Our read on MUST
BMost muni index funds just buy the market by size. MUST tracks a Columbia-built index that carves the tax-exempt market into five fixed slices, screens out tobacco bonds, territory paper and California debt, and pays monthly.
The Fund is a passive ETF designed to track the Beta Advantage Multi-Sector Municipal Bond Index before fees and expenses.
Why people hold it
- Costs 0.23% a year, below the typical muni bond ETF, for a rules-based build rather than a plain market-cap copy of the muni market.
- The index sets a fixed budget across five muni segments, including hospital debt and a standing high-yield sleeve, and reconstitutes monthly.sec.govsec.gov
- Screens out the messier corners: tobacco bonds, Puerto Rico and other territory paper, pre-refunded and insured bonds, and California debt.sec.govcolumbiathreadneedleus.com
- Spreads risk across roughly 600 bonds and pays income monthly.
Worth knowing
- You pay up for the rules: VTEB and MUB run the plain national muni index for a few basis points.
- The permanent junk-muni sleeve and the hospital-debt slice carry more credit risk than a plain investment-grade muni index.sec.gov
- A mid-size, moderately traded fund, so trading costs can run wider than the category's biggest names.
MUST Holdings
- Bonds
- 577
- 5%
- BlackRock Liquidity Funds Municash
Geography
- United States100.00%
MUST Performance
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.
MUST$9,723
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 | MUST |
|---|---|
| Year to date | −4.1% |
| 1 month | −1.8% |
| 3 months | −5.7% |
| 1 year | −2.8% |
| 3 years | +2.9% |
| 5 years | −0.3% |
| 10 years | — |
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 | MUST |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | −4.1% | |
| 2025 | +4.9% | |
| 2024 | +0.4% | |
| 2023 | +6.2% | |
| 2022 | −8.8% | |
| 2021 | +1.9% | |
| 2020 | +6.7% |
MUST in the news
MUST Dividends
- 3.58%
- $0.69
- $0.06 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
MUST Risk
- 6.3%
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.
- −0.28
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.
- −13.3%
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.
- 1.01
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
MUST Cost
0.23%
MUST0.23%
- The middle half of Other Municipal Bond funds
- Median 0.30%
14 of the 63 Other Municipal Bond funds charge less.
Other funds in Other Municipal Bond
- BFTMUFranklin Municipal Income ETFExpense ratio 0.30%1 year return —
- BBABInvesco Taxable Municipal Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.28%1 year return −3.1%
- BRVNUXtrackers Municipal Infrastructure Revenue Bond Active ETFExpense ratio 0.15%1 year return −2.6%
- BFLMBFranklin Municipal Green Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.30%1 year return −4.0%
- BGCALGoldman Sachs Dynamic California Municipal Income ETFExpense ratio 0.35%1 year return −1.0%