LMUB vs MLN

LMUBBiShares Long-Term National Muni Bond ETF

MLNBVanEck Long Muni ETF

In short

LMUB Most muni funds hand you the whole maturity curve. LMUB takes only the long end: investment-grade national municipal bonds maturing in 12 years or more, indexed, for 0.09% a year.

MLN Most muni funds hug the middle of the maturity curve. MLN goes long on purpose: an index of long-dated, AMT-free national munis, running since 2008, paying tax-exempt income monthly and carrying the bigger rate swings that come with the long end.

Stated mandate

LMUB The fund seeks to track an index of investment-grade U.S. municipal bonds with maturities of at least 12 years.

MLN MLN seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the ICE Long AMT-Free Broad National Municipal Index, representing the U.S. dollar-denominated long-term tax-exempt bond market.

Why people hold it

• LMUB Charges 0.09% a year against a 0.30% median for muni funds, so more of the tax-exempt coupon stays with shareholders.
• Not a broad fund with a long tilt. The ICE AMT-free index it follows holds only national munis maturing in 12+ years, roughly 800 bonds deep.
• Pays income monthly, and cost plus index discipline put it among the stronger builds in a crowded muni field.

• MLN Costs 0.24% a year, below the 0.30% median for muni bond ETFs.
• AMT-free by design: the index leaves out bonds whose income can trigger the alternative minimum tax. Roughly 700 holdings, spread across the country rather than one state.
• Open since 2008, so it has traded through a full rate cycle, and it pays out monthly.
• Sits in the upper half of a crowded national muni field on our review of cost, tracking and structure.

Worth knowing

• LMUB Long maturities cut both ways: 12-year-plus bonds swing harder on rate moves than short or intermediate muni funds.
• Launched in 2025, so the track record is short and the risk picture rests on limited history.
• Whole-curve muni funds go cheaper (VTEB and SCMB at 0.03%). The 0.09% here buys the long-only slice, not broad coverage.

• MLN Long maturities move harder on rate shifts than intermediate muni funds do. That duration is the entire point of the fund, and it works in both directions.
• All-maturity rivals VTEB (0.03%) and MUB (0.05%) charge a fraction as much. The premium here buys a long-end-only mandate they do not run.
• Mid-sized and moderately traded, so bid-ask spreads carry more weight than in the muni aisle's biggest funds.

Full LMUB profile⁠

Full MLN profile⁠