BSMU vs IBMR

BSMUCInvesco BulletShares 2030 Municipal Bond ETF

IBMRAiShares iBonds Dec 2029 Term Muni Bond ETF

In short

BSMU A muni fund with an expiration date. BSMU holds municipal bonds maturing in 2030, then winds down around December 15, 2030 and pays out what's left. One rung of a muni ladder, roughly 1,800 bonds deep, in a single ticker.

IBMR A muni ladder rung in one ticker: it holds investment-grade municipal bonds maturing in 2029, tracks an AMT-free index, and pays monthly. Bond-style term structure, ETF plumbing.

Stated mandate

BSMU The Fund seeks to track the Invesco BulletShares Municipal Bond 2030 Index by investing at least 80% of assets in its municipal-bond constituents. The portfolio targets U.S. municipal securities with effective maturities in 2030 and is scheduled to terminate around December 15, 2030.

IBMR The fund seeks to track an index of investment-grade municipal bonds that mature in 2029.

Why people hold it

• BSMU Behaves like a bond, trades like a fund: holdings target effective maturities in 2030 and the fund is scheduled to terminate around December 15, 2030. Most bond ETFs never mature.
• Roughly 1,800 municipal bonds inside, so no single issuer dominates the outcome. Assembling that ladder rung yourself takes real size and a bond desk.
• Income arrives monthly, and the fund has been running since 2020 as part of Invesco's BulletShares dated-maturity lineup, so rungs can be stacked across years.

• IBMR Charges 0.10% a year, right at the median for target-maturity bond funds, and the iBonds lineup is built so maturity years stack into a ladder.
• Spreads across more than a thousand investment-grade munis, so one issuer's trouble barely moves the fund.
• Follows an AMT-free index, screening out bonds whose income can trip the alternative minimum tax.
• Pays monthly, matching how muni income is usually spent, and holds a well-built portfolio for its category.

Worth knowing

• BSMU 0.18% a year sits above much of the dated-maturity crowd; Invesco's own 2030 corporate version, BSCU, charges 0.10%. Muni bonds are pricier to source and hold.
• The end date cuts both ways: once the fund terminates around December 15, 2030, the cash comes back and the reinvestment decision is yours.
• Moderately traded rather than a category heavyweight, so order size and timing matter more here than in the biggest bond ETFs.

• IBMR Munis are the tax-advantaged lane. For the same 2029 rung in taxable bonds, iShares also runs IBDU (corporate) and IBTJ (Treasury).
• The index is callable-adjusted: plenty of munis can be redeemed early by their issuers, so the mix heading into the term date can shift.
• It is a fund, not a single bond. Shares trade at market prices and move with rates along the way, and the end payout is whatever the bonds deliver.

Full BSMU profile⁠

Full IBMR profile⁠