BKMI vs TAXI

BKMIBBNY Mellon Municipal Intermediate ETF

TAXIANorthern Trust Intermediate Tax-Exempt Bond ETF

In short

BKMI A muni strategy with roots in 1987, now in ETF form: roughly 500 federally tax-exempt bonds with duration parked between three and eight years. The intermediate lane, priced a step above the muni median.

TAXI The middle rung of Northern Trust's three-part muni lineup: intermediate maturities of 1 to 15 years, thousands of investment-grade bonds, federally tax-exempt income paid monthly, all for five basis points.

Stated mandate

BKMI The ETF seeks to maximize current income exempt from federal income tax while preserving capital. It normally invests at least 80% of its assets in federally tax-exempt municipal bonds, with portfolio effective duration generally between three and eight years.

TAXI The fund seeks to track the performance of the ICE Intermediate Term Focused Municipal Bond Index before fees and expenses. It is designed for tax-exempt income through passively managed, investment-grade municipal bonds with intermediate maturities of 1–15 years.

Why people hold it

• BKMI The mandate is specific: at least 80% in federally tax-exempt munis, effective duration generally three to eight years. No long-bond surprises hiding inside.
• Income is built to come out exempt from federal income tax, with preserving capital named right alongside it in the objective.
• Roughly 500 bonds inside a multi-billion-dollar portfolio, so no single issuer carries the fund.
• The strategy's track record starts in 1987, which is a lot of rate cycles before muni ETFs were even a thing.

• TAXI Charges 0.05% where the typical muni fund charges 0.30%. That ties iShares' MUB and sits within a hair of the Vanguard and Schwab giants at the top of the aisle.
• Roughly 2,500 investment-grade municipal bonds, sampled to track the ICE Intermediate Term Focused Municipal Bond Index. Breadth, not bond-picking, carries the credit risk.flexshares.com
• Income is exempt from federal tax and paid monthly, and the index only counts bonds that also dodge the federal alternative minimum tax.stockanalysis.com
• One setting on a three-position dial: short (TAXS), intermediate (TAXI) and all-maturity (TAXT) from the same desk, so you can shift rate exposure without switching shops.northerntrust.com

Worth knowing

• BKMI At 0.35% a year it prices above the muni cohort median of 0.30%, and well above index heavyweights VTEB and SCMB at 0.03%.
• Payouts have arrived on an irregular schedule rather than the fixed monthly rhythm many muni funds keep.
• Trading is moderate rather than heavy, so the spread can be a bigger slice of a round trip than with the category's most-traded muni funds.

• TAXI It opened in August 2025. The record is short, so there is little history to judge it against older muni funds.
• Trades lightly next to the category's household names, and its asset base is modest, which can show up as wider spreads at the moment you transact.
• The 1 to 15 year band is a middle seat: less rate whiplash than long-dated munis, more price movement than a short-maturity fund. Bonds here still move when yields do.flexshares.com

Full BKMI profile⁠

Full TAXI profile⁠