GUMI vs SUB

GUMIAGoldman Sachs Ultra Short Municipal Income ETF

SUBAiShares Short-Term National Muni Bond ETF

In short

GUMI Goldman keeps this muni portfolio on a six-month leash: active management, tax-exempt income, and minimal rate sensitivity. In a cohort of short-term muni funds, it sits at the ultra-short end and costs less than the typical rival.

SUB Munis, but only the near end of the curve. Since 2008 SUB has tracked an AMT-free index of investment-grade municipal bonds maturing inside five years, paying tax-exempt income monthly with far less rate sensitivity than long-dated muni funds.

Stated mandate

GUMI The Fund seeks high current income with relatively low principal volatility, aiming for income exempt from regular federal income tax. It normally invests at least 80% of its assets plus investment borrowings in tax-exempt municipal securities.

SUB The fund seeks to track an index of short-term, investment-grade U.S. municipal bonds maturing from one month through five years, providing tax-exempt income while managing interest-rate risk.

Why people hold it

• GUMI Duration target of about half a year, plus or minus three months, so price moves from rate swings are far smaller than in longer muni funds.sec.gov
• Cheap for an actively run muni fund: 0.16% a year, below the 0.25% median for its short-term muni peer group.
• At least 80% of assets in tax-exempt munis, with income exempt from regular federal income tax and paid out monthly.
• Human managers, not an index: credit work, relative-value trades and tax-loss harvesting across roughly 200 positions.sec.gov

• SUB Charges 0.07% a year against a category median near 0.30%. On tax-exempt bond income, that fee gap is a meaningful slice of what actually reaches you.
• Two dials set on purpose: maturities from one month to five years, and an AMT-free index, so neither rate swings nor the alternative minimum tax hit the same way.ishares.com
• A multi-billion-dollar fund running since 2008 under iShares, with tight tracking of its ICE benchmark. One of the sturdier implementations in the muni group.
• Pays monthly, so the tax-exempt income arrives on a regular cadence rather than in quarterly lumps.

Worth knowing

• GUMI Up to 100% of net assets can sit in private activity bonds, whose income may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax.gs.com
• Thinly traded next to cohort heavyweights like SUB and VTES, which makes limit orders the sane way in and out.
• Launched in 2024, so the track record is short by muni-fund standards.

• SUB The five-year ceiling is the whole design, and it cuts both ways: less rate sensitivity, but a shorter stretch of the curve to draw income from than full-maturity muni funds.
• This is a national portfolio. Single-state funds like NYF chase a home-state tax break that a nationwide muni basket cannot offer.
• Broad-maturity peers VTEB and SCMB run at 0.03%. The short-end tilt here costs a few basis points more.

Full GUMI profile⁠

Full SUB profile⁠