MMCA vs TAXI

MMCACNYLI MacKay California Muni Intermediate ETF

TAXIANorthern Trust Intermediate Tax-Exempt Bond ETF

In short

MMCA California's own corner of the muni market, picked by hand: MacKay's muni team runs roughly 120 intermediate bonds chasing income exempt from both federal and California tax. Active, not an index, and it pays monthly.

TAXI The middle rung of Northern Trust's three-part muni lineup: intermediate maturities of 1 to 15 years, thousands of investment-grade bonds, federally tax-exempt income paid monthly, all for five basis points.

Stated mandate

MMCA The Fund seeks current income that is exempt from both federal and California income taxes.

TAXI The fund seeks to track the performance of the ICE Intermediate Term Focused Municipal Bond Index before fees and expenses. It is designed for tax-exempt income through passively managed, investment-grade municipal bonds with intermediate maturities of 1–15 years.

Why people hold it

• MMCA Double tax-exempt by design: the fund seeks current income exempt from both federal and California income taxes, and it pays monthly.nylim.com
• Human judgment, not a benchmark: MacKay Municipal Managers, the muni team at MacKay Shields, runs it actively, with at least 80% of assets in municipal bonds.nylim.comnylim.com 2
• What it holds matches what it says: roughly 120 intermediate California munis, closely aligned with the mandate in its prospectus.

• TAXI Charges 0.05% where the typical muni fund charges 0.30%. That ties iShares' MUB and sits within a hair of the Vanguard and Schwab giants at the top of the aisle.
• Roughly 2,500 investment-grade municipal bonds, sampled to track the ICE Intermediate Term Focused Municipal Bond Index. Breadth, not bond-picking, carries the credit risk.flexshares.com
• Income is exempt from federal tax and paid monthly, and the index only counts bonds that also dodge the federal alternative minimum tax.stockanalysis.com
• One setting on a three-position dial: short (TAXS), intermediate (TAXI) and all-maturity (TAXT) from the same desk, so you can shift rate exposure without switching shops.northerntrust.com

Worth knowing

• MMCA Costs more than most of the category: 0.36% net of a fee waiver (0.64% gross), against 0.30% for national sibling MMIT and 0.18% for index-run ITM.
• One state, one tax code: California-only issuers concentrate credit and tax-law risk, and the state exemption only helps California taxpayers.nylim.com
• A smaller fund that trades moderately, so spreads can run wider than the category's heavyweights.

• TAXI It opened in August 2025. The record is short, so there is little history to judge it against older muni funds.
• Trades lightly next to the category's household names, and its asset base is modest, which can show up as wider spreads at the moment you transact.
• The 1 to 15 year band is a middle seat: less rate whiplash than long-dated munis, more price movement than a short-maturity fund. Bonds here still move when yields do.flexshares.com

Full MMCA profile⁠

Full TAXI profile⁠