HTAX vs HYD

HTAXCNomura National High-Yield Municipal Bond ETF

HYDAVanEck High Yield Muni ETF

In short

HTAX Most muni ETFs stick to the safest paper. HTAX heads down the credit ladder on purpose, running Macquarie's flagship high-yield muni playbook in an ETF: active, federally tax-exempt income from medium- and lower-grade bonds, paid monthly.

HYD Junk munis with a seatbelt: HYD's index mixes lower-rated and unrated bonds with a slice of investment-grade credit, spread across roughly 1,900 tax-exempt issues. Trading since 2009, priced under the category median.

Stated mandate

HTAX The fund seeks a high level of current interest income that is exempt from regular federal income tax, primarily by investing in municipal securities.

HYD The fund seeks to track the performance of a broad index of U.S. dollar-denominated, high-yield, long-term tax-exempt municipal bonds.

Why people hold it

• HTAX Runs the same yield-focused objective and process as Macquarie's flagship high-yield muni mutual fund, managed by the firm's municipal bond team.macquarie.com
• At least 80% of net assets sits in municipal securities whose income is exempt from federal income tax, tilted toward medium- and lower-grade issuers.sec.gov
• Pays monthly, and the 0.49% management fee is the whole sticker: no 12b-1 fees, no separate other expenses.sec.gov

• HYD The "crossover" build is the whole idea: lower-rated and unrated munis blended with an investment-grade allocation meant to firm up credit quality and tradability.vaneck.comvaneck.com 2
• Costs 0.32% a year, below the high-yield muni median of 0.40% and under index rival HYMB at 0.35%.
• Roughly 1,900 bonds, paid out monthly, so no single troubled issuer drives the whole distribution.
• Open since 2009 and one of the stronger index implementations in the high-yield muni group.vaneck.com

Worth knowing

• HTAX At 0.49% it costs well above plain index muni ETFs like VTEB (0.03%) and MUB (0.05%). Active credit work is what you are paying up for.
• Medium- and lower-grade munis carry more default and liquidity risk than an investment-grade index fund, so prices can swing harder when credit gets nervous.sec.gov
• A 2025 launch with a short record, and it trades lightly next to the category's giants, which can mean wider bid-ask spreads.

• HYD High yield means what it says: lower-rated and unrated municipal credit, where defaults and price swings bite harder than in investment-grade munis.vaneck.com
• A long-term muni portfolio, so interest-rate moves move the price. The tax-exempt income counts for most in a taxable account.vaneck.com
• Munis trade over the counter, not on an exchange, so spreads on the fund can widen when the bond market gets jumpy.vaneck.com

Full HTAX profile⁠

Full HYD profile⁠