MUB vs RMNY

MUBAiShares National Muni Bond ETF

RMNYCRockefeller New York Municipal Bond ETF

In short

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.

RMNY A New York-only muni bond fund run by a live manager instead of an index. Rockefeller hand-picks the bonds, chasing income that skips both the federal and the New York state tax bill, and pays it out monthly.

Stated mandate

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.

RMNY The Fund seeks income exempt from federal and New York state income taxes. It is actively managed and invests primarily in New York municipal bonds.

Why people hold it

• 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

• RMNY Narrow by design: the prospectus targets income exempt from federal and New York state income taxes, invested primarily in New York municipal bonds.
• Active, not indexed. The manager can move across issuers, maturities and credit tiers rather than holding whatever a benchmark prescribes.
• What is on the label is what is in the portfolio: holdings line up closely with the stated New York muni mandate.
• Income arrives monthly rather than quarterly.

Worth knowing

• 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.

• RMNY Active costs real money: 0.55% a year against a 0.30% muni-fund median, and far above index New York rivals such as NYF at 0.09%.
• A small, thinly traded fund, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than the giant national muni ETFs.
• Launched in 2024, so the live record is short, and a single-state book ties you to one state's issuers and tax rules.

Full MUB profile⁠

Full RMNY profile⁠