SUB vs TAFI: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

iShares Short-Term National Muni Bond ETF

SUBANYSE Arca

AB Tax-Aware Short Duration Municipal ETF

TAFIBNYSE Arca

Overlap

No data

Expense ratio

SUB −0.20pt a year

SUB0.07%TAFI0.27%

Avg volume · 30D

SUB 1.4×the volume

SUB880KTAFI647K

3Y return · a year

TAFI +0.6pt

SUB+3.2%TAFI+3.8%

SUB vs TAFI Performance

Nov 7, 2025 – Nov 9, 2026

+2.3%SUB+2.3%TAFI

Expense ratio: SUB 0.07%, better; TAFI 0.27%
Fund size: SUB $13.4B; TAFI $1.54B
1Y total return: SUB +2.3%; TAFI +2.3%
Yield (12M): SUB 2.57%; TAFI 3.12%, better
Holdings: SUB 3149; TAFI 711
Avg volume (30D): SUB 880K sh, better; TAFI 647K sh
NAV per share: SUB $105.96; TAFI $25.02
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for SUB, TAFI, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	SUB	TAFI
Cost30% weight	A91Higher	F24
Mission25% weight	A100	A100
Risk15% weight	C44	C50Higher
Tradability15% weight	B60	A84Higher
Holdings10% weight	A82Higher	B55
Durability5% weight	A95Higher	B67

Rank among Short-Duration Municipal Bonds funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. SUB and TAFI are both graded against the same 27 Short-Duration Municipal Bonds funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Short-Duration Municipal Bonds⁠

Category · 27 funds

See all 27 ›

SUB ranks 1st and TAFI 14th of 27 funds in the Short-Duration Municipal Bonds Category.

Rank 1ASUBiShares Short-Term National Muni Bond ETFScore 80
Rank 1AVTESVanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond ETFScore 80
Rank 14BFTMSFranklin Short-Term Municipal Income ETFScore 61
Rank 14BTAFIAB Tax-Aware Short Duration Municipal ETFScore 61
Rank 17BAUSMAllspring Ultra Short Municipal ETFScore 60

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

SUBAiShares Short-Term National Muni Bond ETF

TAFIBAB Tax-Aware Short Duration Municipal ETF

In short

SUB Munis, but only the near end of the curve. Since 2008 SUB has tracked an AMT-free index of investment-grade municipal bonds maturing inside five years, paying tax-exempt income monthly with far less rate sensitivity than long-dated muni funds.

TAFI Most muni funds own munis and nothing else. TAFI is an actively run short-duration muni portfolio with an escape hatch: up to 20% can sit in taxable bonds when those pay more on an after-tax basis.

Stated mandate

SUB The fund seeks to track an index of short-term, investment-grade U.S. municipal bonds maturing from one month through five years, providing tax-exempt income while managing interest-rate risk.

TAFI The Fund seeks relative stability of principal together with a moderate after-tax return and income.

Why people hold it

SUB Charges 0.07% a year against a category median near 0.30%. On tax-exempt bond income, that fee gap is a meaningful slice of what actually reaches you.
Two dials set on purpose: maturities from one month to five years, and an AMT-free index, so neither rate swings nor the alternative minimum tax hit the same way.ishares.com
A multi-billion-dollar fund running since 2008 under iShares, with tight tracking of its ICE benchmark. One of the sturdier implementations in the muni group.
Pays monthly, so the tax-exempt income arrives on a regular cadence rather than in quarterly lumps.

TAFI The taxable sleeve is the point. Up to 20% can move into taxable bonds when they beat comparable munis after tax, a lever a pure muni index fund does not have.alliancebernstein.com
Duration is targeted at one to three years, keeping rate-driven price swings modest next to intermediate and long muni funds.alliancebernstein.com
A 0.27% fee undercuts the typical muni ETF even with a live team picking bonds. Active management here costs less than the cohort median.
A multi-billion-dollar book spread across roughly 700 bonds, paying monthly, and among the smoother muni ETFs to trade in size.

Worth knowing

SUB The five-year ceiling is the whole design, and it cuts both ways: less rate sensitivity, but a shorter stretch of the curve to draw income from than full-maturity muni funds.
This is a national portfolio. Single-state funds like NYF chase a home-state tax break that a nationwide muni basket cannot offer.
Broad-maturity peers VTEB and SCMB run at 0.03%. The short-end tilt here costs a few basis points more.

TAFI The mandate is deliberately loose: "relative stability of principal together with a moderate after-tax return and income." No index to hold it to, so outcomes ride on manager calls.
Plain-vanilla index munis are far cheaper. VTEB and SCMB run 0.03%, so you are paying roughly nine times that for the active seat and the taxable sleeve.
Income from the taxable portion is not federally tax-exempt, so the tax profile shifts with how the managers use that flexibility.alliancebernstein.com

Full SUB profile⁠

Full TAFI profile⁠

SUB vs TAFI Holdings

How SUB and TAFI differ

No overlap figure

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues.

Level by level

Countryby domicile96.9%
Asset classBonds100%

Sector

SUB and TAFI share no Sector name, so they cannot be compared by Sector.

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in SUB and TAFI, widest gap first
Country	More in SUBMore in TAFI	Gap	SUB	TAFI
United States		SUB +3.1 points	100.0%	96.9%
Puerto Rico		TAFI +3.1 points	0.0%	3.1%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

SUB3.4%
TAFI13.4%

Securities held

SUB2,425
TAFI679

Asset class

SUB: Bonds
TAFI: Bonds

Holdings

Two bond funds rarely hold the same issues, so this page lists no shared Holdings. SUB holds 2,425 securities, TAFI 679.

All 3,097 SUB holdings⁠All 681 TAFI holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

SUB vs TAFI Cost

Overpaying TAFI vs SUB

$4,077

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

SUB 0.07%
$1,480
TAFI 0.27%
$5,557

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

SUB 0.07%
TAFI 0.27%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	SUB	TAFI	Overpaying
10	$128	$491	$363
20	$503	$1,907	$1,404
30	$1,480	$5,557	$4,077

Expense ratio

0.07%SUB, cheaper
0.27%TAFI

SUB0.07%TAFI0.27%

0.05%0.55%

Middle half of Short-Duration Municipal Bonds funds
Median 0.21%

SUB 3rd cheapest of 27 funds

TAFI 20th cheapest of 27 funds

SUB vs TAFI Dividends

Last 12 months to Nov 9, 2026

Yield (12M): SUB 2.57%; TAFI 3.12%, better
Payout (12M): SUB $2.73; TAFI $0.78
Last payment: SUB $0.23; TAFI $0.06
Ex-dividend: SUB Nov 2, 2026; TAFI Nov 2, 2026
Paid on: SUB Nov 5, 2026; TAFI Nov 5, 2026
Frequency: SUB Monthly; TAFI Monthly

Distribution history

Per share, 2023 to 2026, same scale for both

SUBMonthly · 46 paymentsAll SUB payments⁠

TAFIMonthly · 46 paymentsAll TAFI payments⁠

SUB vs TAFI Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

This chart needs five years of history for both funds.

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: SUB 2.0%, betterTAFI 2.5%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: SUB −0.59TAFI −0.22, better
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: SUB −4.0%TAFI −2.4%since Sep 2022
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: SUB 0.26TAFI 0.35; Market = 1

SUB and TAFI in the news

All news⁠

New ETFs
Nine new bond ETFs match the index fund beside them, or cost more
Oct 5, 2026SUB
New ETFs
Victory's two new municipal ETFs list at fees a waiver is holding down
Oct 5, 2026SUB

Popular comparisons

SUBAvsVTESA
iShares Short-Term National Muni Bond ETF · Vanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond ETF
Expense ratio
0.07% · 0.05%
Category
TAFIBvsVTESA
AB Tax-Aware Short Duration Municipal ETF · Vanguard Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond ETF
Expense ratio
0.27% · 0.05%
Category
SUBAvsVSDMA
iShares Short-Term National Muni Bond ETF · Vanguard Short Duration Tax-Exempt Bond ETF
Expense ratio
0.07% · 0.12%
Category
TAFIBvsVSDMA
AB Tax-Aware Short Duration Municipal ETF · Vanguard Short Duration Tax-Exempt Bond ETF
Expense ratio
0.27% · 0.12%
Category
SUBAvsTAXSA
iShares Short-Term National Muni Bond ETF · Northern Trust Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond ETF
Expense ratio
0.07% · 0.05%
Category
TAFIBvsTAXSA
AB Tax-Aware Short Duration Municipal ETF · Northern Trust Short-Term Tax-Exempt Bond ETF
Expense ratio
0.27% · 0.05%
Category

SUB vs TAFI

In short

Stated mandate

Why people hold it

Worth knowing

How SUB and TAFI differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Cost over time

Year by year

Distribution history

Fall from peak · 5 years

Risk facts

Nine new bond ETFs match the index fund beside them, or cost more

Victory's two new municipal ETFs list at fees a waiver is holding down

How SUB and TAFI differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings