EVIM vs TAXE

EVIMAEaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF

TAXEAT. Rowe Price Intermediate Municipal Income ETF

In short

EVIM Active muni management at index-fund pricing. Eaton Vance charges 0.11% for a federally tax-exempt, intermediate-maturity bond portfolio built by bond pickers instead of copied from a benchmark.

TAXE Most muni ETFs just buy the index. TAXE is T. Rowe Price's hand-picked version: roughly 200 intermediate municipal bonds chosen for federally tax-free income with moderate price movement, at 0.24% a year.

Stated mandate

EVIM The fund seeks income through a diversified portfolio of debt securities whose interest is exempt from regular federal income tax, with at least 80% of assets committed to that municipal-bond strategy.

TAXE The fund seeks the highest level of income exempt from federal income taxes while maintaining moderate price fluctuation.

Why people hold it

• EVIM Charges 0.11% a year against a roughly 0.30% muni-ETF median. That is a hands-on bond desk priced in index-fund territory.
• At least 80% of assets go to munis whose interest is exempt from regular federal income tax, with room for up to 20% in taxable munis and Treasuries.aaii.com
• Income lands monthly, and the core of it escapes regular federal income tax.
• Diversified core muni exposure across sectors, states and credit tiers, and one of the stronger implementations in a crowded tax-exempt bond field.eatonvance.com

• TAXE At 0.24% a year it undercuts the typical muni ETF fee, unusual for a fund with a manager actually picking the bonds.
• No index to copy. The mandate is plain: the highest federally tax-exempt income the managers can find while keeping price swings moderate.
• The portfolio has stayed tightly aligned with that stated job, one of the stronger implementations among muni ETFs.
• Pays monthly, spreading interest from about 200 intermediate munis across the calendar rather than in quarterly lumps.

Worth knowing

• EVIM Index rivals cost less: VTEB and SCMB at 0.03%, MUB at 0.05%. The gap is what the active team costs.
• Trades lighter than the household-name index munis, so spreads can widen and limit orders matter more.
• Launched in 2023, so the record is short, and results trace back to the manager's bond selection rather than a published index.aaii.com

• TAXE Cheap for active, still pricier than the index giants: VTEB and SCMB run at 0.03%. The gap is what you pay for human bond selection.
• Trades lightly next to the largest muni ETFs, so bid-ask spreads can be wider, particularly on bigger orders.
• Launched in 2024, so the track record is short and has not yet spanned a full interest-rate cycle.

Full EVIM profile⁠

Full TAXE profile⁠