MUB vs RMOP

MUBAiShares National Muni Bond ETF

RMOPCRockefeller Opportunistic 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.

RMOP Not an index tracker: RMOP is an actively run muni portfolio that leans into the high-yield end of the market, hunting mispriced bonds for monthly federally tax-exempt income. The fee is 0.80%.

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.

RMOP The Fund seeks current income exempt from federal income tax and long-term capital appreciation.

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

• RMOP Run by three managers who came over from Invesco together in 2024 after two decades investing side by side, covering both high-yield and high-grade munis in one mandate.rockco.com
• Tax-exempt by design: at least 80% of net assets go to bonds whose interest is exempt from federal income tax, and the portfolio has stayed tight to that stated mandate.yahoo.com
• Income arrives monthly, not quarterly, and the fund trades with moderate volume for an actively managed muni product.

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.

• RMOP The 0.80% fee sits above the muni category median, and far above broad index options like VTEB at 0.03% and MUB at 0.05%. Security selection has to carry that gap.
• Non-diversified, with a benchmark blended 60% toward high-yield munis. Single positions can run large and lower-rated munis trade thinly, so swings run hotter than a broad index.yahoo.comrockco.com
• Launched in August 2024, so the track record is short and covers only one stretch of the rate cycle.

Full MUB profile⁠

Full RMOP profile⁠