JMUB vs MUB

JMUBAJPMorgan Municipal ETF

MUBAiShares National Muni Bond ETF

In short

JMUB A national municipal bond portfolio aiming at federal tax-exempt income and capital preservation, spread across roughly 2,000 bonds, priced at 0.18% a year (well under the typical muni ETF) and paying 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

JMUB The fund seeks federal tax-exempt income and capital preservation by investing in municipal securities.

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

• JMUB 0.18% a year, against a muni-ETF field where the typical fee runs closer to 0.30%.
• Roughly 2,000 municipal bonds, so no single issuer, state or project sets the tone for the whole portfolio.
• Cash arrives monthly, and the mandate targets interest exempt from federal income tax.
• A multi-billion-dollar, actively traded fund that stays inside its stated muni mandate, and one of the stronger implementations in a crowded municipal peer group.

• 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

• JMUB Broad index rivals go cheaper: VTEB, SCMB and MUB all charge a handful of basis points versus 0.18% here.
• Munis still move with interest rates and credit spreads. Capital preservation is the stated goal, not a floor under the share price.
• The tax break is a federal one, so what it is worth depends on your bracket and your state's rules.

• 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 JMUB profile⁠

Full MUB profile⁠