NYF vs SCMB

NYFAiShares New York Muni Bond ETF

SCMBASchwab Municipal Bond ETF

In short

NYF New York in one ticker: roughly 900 investment-grade, AMT-free munis from the Empire State, at a fee that undercuts most muni funds. Running since 2007, and it tracks its index closely.

SCMB Schwab's take on the core muni sleeve: three basis points, thousands of AMT-free bonds from across the country, and a monthly distribution. Bottom-of-the-table pricing, no frills attached.

Stated mandate

NYF The fund seeks to track the ICE AMT-Free New York Plus Municipal Index, which represents investment-grade, tax-exempt U.S. dollar debt issued primarily by New York and its political subdivisions. It uses indexing and representative sampling rather than active security selection.

SCMB The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the total return of an index representing the U.S. AMT-free municipal bond market.

Why people hold it

• NYF At 0.09% a year it charges less than the typical muni bond ETF, which is unusual for single-state exposure (narrower usually means pricier).
• Follows the ICE AMT-Free New York Plus Municipal Index with very little drift, using representative sampling rather than picking bonds by hand.sec.gov
• Launched in 2007, one of the original New York muni ETFs and now a multi-billion-dollar fund that pays monthly.
• Income is tax-exempt at the federal level and for New York State, and the index screens out AMT bonds.ishares.com

• SCMB Three basis points a year, against a 0.30% median for muni bond funds. Among the top-graded names in the category, only Vanguard's VTEB matches that fee.
• Follows the ICE AMT-Free Core U.S. National Municipal Index across thousands of bonds and issuers, so no single borrower or state drives the portfolio.
• Plain passive plumbing done well: it stays close to its index, trades actively, and pays monthly. One of the stronger implementations in the muni aisle.

Worth knowing

• NYF One state's credit story: New York and its subdivisions drive the portfolio, so Albany and City Hall budget news matters more here than in a national muni fund.
• The state tax break only reaches New York taxpayers. Elsewhere you get the federal exemption alone.ishares.com
• Muni prices move with interest rates, and this trades less actively than national heavyweights like MUB and VTEB, so spreads can run wider.

• SCMB Launched in 2022, so its live record is shorter than muni staples like MUB and VTEB, even though the strategy is the same broad-market idea.
• Bond math still applies. This is a portfolio of municipal bonds, so share prices move opposite to interest rates.
• National in scope, not single-state like NYF, so it is not built around any one state's tax rules.

Full NYF profile⁠

Full SCMB profile⁠