FTNY vs MUB

FTNYBFranklin New York Municipal Income ETF

MUBAiShares National Muni Bond ETF

In short

FTNY A 1983-vintage New York muni portfolio in ETF clothing, converted from a Putnam fund in 2025. Actively run for income exempt from federal, New York State and New York City income taxes, 0.36% net of a waiver through March 31, 2027.

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

FTNY The fund seeks a high level of current income exempt from federal and New York State and City personal income taxes while preserving capital.

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

• FTNY Triple exemption: it targets interest free of federal, New York State and New York City personal income tax, a layer broad national muni funds don't aim for.sec.gov
• Not a startup fund. The portfolio ran as Putnam New York Tax Exempt Income Fund from 1983 and reorganized into this ETF in October 2025 with the same goal and strategy.franklintempleton.com
• Active security picking, roughly 300 bonds across general obligation, revenue and tender option issues, mainly investment grade with maturities of three years or longer.sec.gov
• Income lands monthly rather than quarterly.

• 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

• FTNY Cost runs above the category median: 0.36% net of a waiver through March 31, 2027 (0.37% gross), versus 0.03% at VTEB and 0.05% at MUB, both broad national index funds.
• Single-state by design, so New York budget and local credit news move this portfolio more than it would a 50-state muni fund.sec.gov
• The prospectus allows up to 25% in below-investment-grade bonds (none rated below B, max 10% in B), and some interest can fall under the federal AMT.sec.gov

• 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 FTNY profile⁠

Full MUB profile⁠