TAXI vs TXXI

TAXIANorthern Trust Intermediate Tax-Exempt Bond ETF

TXXICBondBloxx IR+M Tax-Aware Intermediate Duration ETF

In short

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.

TXXI Most muni ETFs pick a lane. TXXI runs both: at least half in federally tax-exempt munis, the rest in taxable bonds, with duration held to a 3 to 5 year band. Actively managed by bond shop IR+M, launched in 2025.

Stated mandate

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.

TXXI The Fund seeks attractive after-tax income while preserving capital. It invests in dollar-denominated municipal and taxable intermediate-duration fixed-income securities, normally allocating at least 50% of assets to federally tax-exempt municipal securities and seeking a 3–5-year weighted-average portfolio duration.

Why people hold it

• 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

• TXXI The mandate is written down, not implied: a 50% floor in federally tax-exempt munis, the balance in taxable fixed income, weighted-average duration kept between 3 and 5 years.
• What it holds matches what it says. The portfolio stays inside its tax-aware, intermediate-duration lane rather than drifting long or into pure taxable credit.
• Distributions land monthly, so income arrives on a steady schedule instead of in quarterly lumps.
• The blend is the point: a manager deciding where after-tax income looks better, munis or taxables, instead of an index locking the fund into one side.

Worth knowing

• 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

• TXXI At 0.35% it runs above the muni-fund median of 0.30%, and index heavyweights VTEB and SCMB charge 0.03%. Active management and the crossover mandate are what the gap buys.
• A small, thinly traded fund launched in 2025: spreads can be wider than the big muni trackers, and the track record is still short.
• Only half the book must be tax-exempt. Income from the taxable sleeve is federally taxable, so the shelter is partial compared with a pure muni fund.

Full TAXI profile⁠

Full TXXI profile⁠