CAM vs MMIT

CAMAAB California Intermediate Municipal ETF

MMITANYLI MacKay Muni Intermediate ETF

In short

CAM An actively run California muni portfolio in ETF form: roughly 400 bonds chosen to keep income out of both federal and California state tax, with duration steered to the 3.5 to 7 year middle lane.

MMIT Active muni bond-picking in an ETF wrapper. MacKay Shields' municipal desk has run MMIT since 2017, sifting roughly 900 investment-grade, AMT-free bonds for income exempt from federal tax, and paying it out monthly.

Stated mandate

CAM The fund seeks to preserve principal and maximize total return after federal and state taxes for California residents. It actively invests primarily in California municipal bonds and targets a 3.5–7 year duration.

MMIT The Fund seeks current income exempt from federal income tax.

Why people hold it

• CAM Built around California residents specifically: the mandate targets total return after federal and state taxes, not just the federal exemption every national muni fund offers.alliancebernstein.com
• 0.27% a year sits under the median muni ETF fee, which is unusual for a fund with live managers picking the bonds.
• Duration is steered to a 3.5 to 7 year band, so it stays intermediate by design rather than drifting long when yields tempt.
• Roughly 400 holdings and multi-billion-dollar scale sit behind it, and it lands in the upper half of a crowded muni-bond field.

• MMIT Genuinely active, not an index in disguise: MacKay Shields' muni team picks bonds on credit and yield-curve analysis, targeting a 3 to 10 year duration band.nylim.comstockanalysis.com
• A billion-dollar-plus fund and one of the more actively traded in the intermediate muni group, with roughly 900 bonds spreading issuer risk.
• Trading since 2017, a long run for an active muni ETF, and one of the stronger implementations in its intermediate muni peer group.
• Does the one job it advertises: current income exempt from federal income tax, distributed monthly.

Worth knowing

• CAM One state's issuers and budget cycle drive the whole portfolio. National muni funds spread that across all 50, and the tax edge only lands for California taxpayers.
• Broad index rivals like VTEB and MUB charge single-digit basis points. Active security selection here costs more than the cheapest shelf in the category.
• Launched in 2025, so the live track record is short and there is limited history to judge how the managers handle a full rate cycle.

• MMIT 0.30%, net of a fee waiver off 0.46% gross, sits near the category median but above index rivals: TAXI 0.05%, ITM 0.18%, EVIM 0.11% net of a waiver through February 1, 2027.
• Active management cuts both ways: holdings and results can drift from a plain muni index in either direction.nylim.com
• Income is exempt from federal income tax, not state tax, and the bonds still reprice when rates move.nylim.com

Full CAM profile⁠

Full MMIT profile⁠