CMF vs MUB

CMFAiShares California Muni Bond ETF

MUBAiShares National Muni Bond ETF

In short

CMF The California-only corner of the muni market, indexed since 2007 and priced at 0.08%. CMF holds bonds issued by California and its municipalities, tracks an AMT-free index, and pays monthly.

MUB Municipal 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.

Stated mandate

CMF The Fund seeks to track an index of California municipal bonds. It uses representative sampling and generally invests in municipal securities issued by California and its municipalities.

MUB 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

• CMF 0.08% a year, a fraction of what the typical muni bond fund in its category charges. On a tax-exempt income stream, the fee is the part you actually control.
• The benchmark is the ICE AMT-Free California Municipal Index, so bonds whose interest counts toward the federal alternative minimum tax are screened out.ishares.com
• Follows that index tightly using representative sampling, and ranks among the strongest implementations in the muni ETF group.
• Running since 2007, with assets in the billions and cash paid out monthly.

• MUB 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

• CMF One state's credit, one state's budget cycle. National muni funds (MUB, VTEB) spread tax-exempt exposure across the whole country instead.
• Moderately traded next to the national muni names, so limit orders earn their keep on bigger tickets.
• It is a bond portfolio, not a savings account: prices move as interest rates move, and longer maturities move most.

• MUB 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.

Full CMF profile⁠

Full MUB profile⁠