HYD vs MUB ETF Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
HYD (VanEck High Yield Muni ETF) and MUB (iShares National Muni Bond ETF) are both municipal bond ETFs providing federal tax-exempt monthly income — HYD provides higher yields from below-investment-grade and unrated municipal bonds with greater credit risk and sector concentration in healthcare and project finance, while MUB provides broad investment-grade muni exposure at extremely low cost (0.05%) with maximum credit quality and trading liquidity.
HYD vs MUB is high yield municipal bond exposure with elevated tax-exempt income (VanEck's below-investment-grade muni selection, higher yields amplified by tax exemption for high-bracket investors, and monthly distributions — managing muni-sector default risk, healthcare concentration, and lower liquidity) versus investment-grade municipal bond index with minimal credit risk and near-zero cost (iShares' 5,000-bond diversified portfolio at 0.05% expense ratio, largest muni ETF liquidity, and federal tax-exempt income — lower yield than high yield alternatives and interest rate duration sensitivity).
HYD holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. HYD has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+0.31% vs -1.19% for MUB).
- Want higher tax-exempt income from below-investment-grade municipal bonds, with the federal tax exemption amplifying the yield advantage particularly for investors in the 32-40%+ combined federal/state tax brackets
- Accept municipal bond credit risk (hospital defaults, project finance failures, governmental distress) in exchange for significantly higher yields than investment-grade muni alternatives
- Seek tax-exempt income for taxable accounts as a complement to investment-grade munis, with the higher yield of HYD potentially justifying the additional credit risk
- Want maximum diversification and credit quality in their tax-exempt municipal bond allocation at extremely low cost (0.05%), using the largest and most liquid muni bond ETF
- Value investment-grade credit quality that minimizes municipal default risk while still providing federal tax-exempt income suitable for high-bracket taxpayers
- Use MUB as a core fixed income holding in taxable accounts where the federal tax exemption meaningfully improves after-tax returns vs. equivalent-yield taxable bonds
| Metric | HYD | MUB |
|---|---|---|
| ETF scorei | 24.3 | 24.3 |
| Latest closei | $48.82 | $102.48 |
| 1M returni | +0.50% | -0.10% |
| 3M returni | -3.30% | -3.09% |
| 6M returni | -2.10% | -2.64% |
| 1Y returni | +0.31% | -1.19% |
The ETF score weights long-term returns and risk-adjusted performance most heavily, but still rewards low expense ratios, larger fund size, and broader diversification — so it can favor low-cost, broad, mega-cap funds over smaller thematic or actively-managed funds even when the latter have delivered stronger returns.
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | HYD | MUB |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $10.49K (+4.9%) started 2025-10-15 | $10.21K (+2.1%) started 2025-10-15 |
| 5Y ago | $12.2K (+22.0%) started 2021-10-15 | $11.77K (+17.7%) started 2021-10-15 |
| 10Y ago | $25.24K (+152.4%) started 2016-10-17 | $15.69K (+56.9%) started 2016-10-17 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | HYD | MUB |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratioi | 0.32% | 0.05% |
| Total assets (AUM)i | $3.89B | $46.62B |
| Dividend yieldi | 4.62% | 3.40% |
| Trailing P/Ei | N/A | N/A |
| Betai | 0.38 | 0.26 |
| 52-week change | 0.31% | -1.19% |
| Metric | HYD | MUB |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y returni | +0.31% | -1.19% |
| 6M returni | -2.10% | -2.64% |
| 3M returni | -3.30% | -3.09% |
| 1M returni | +0.50% | -0.10% |
| 1Y Sharpe ratio | -0.93 | -1.57 |
| Betai | 0.38 | 0.26 |
| Dividend yieldi | 4.62% | 3.40% |
| 5Y CAGR | -0.61% | +0.30% |
Over the past year, HYD and MUB have moved strongly in the same direction (correlation of 0.90), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | HYD | MUB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +0.31% | -1.19% |
| CAGRi | +0.31% | -1.19% | |
| Volatilityi | 4.42% | 3.60% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.93 | -1.57 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -1.22 | -1.98 | |
| Max drawdowni | 6.88% | 6.27% | |
| Current drawdowni | 4.29% | 3.94% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 1.25% | 1.21% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 2.10% | 1.87% | |
| Max daily dropi | 1.13% | 0.88% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 2.29% | 2.40% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | -3.02% | +1.52% |
| CAGRi | -0.61% | +0.30% | |
| Volatilityi | 6.58% | 4.22% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.75 | -0.97 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.96 | -1.29 | |
| Max drawdowni | 20.19% | 11.56% | |
| Current drawdowni | 4.66% | 3.94% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 8.46% | 3.53% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 9.75% | 4.60% | |
| Max daily dropi | 4.72% | 1.82% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 7.12% | 3.24% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +30.61% | +18.10% |
| CAGRi | +2.71% | +1.68% | |
| Volatilityi | 13.10% | 4.96% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.07 | -0.55 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.10 | -0.71 | |
| Max drawdowni | 35.60% | 13.68% | |
| Current drawdowni | 5.28% | 3.94% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 5.77% | 2.37% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 8.05% | 3.59% | |
| Max daily dropi | 18.27% | 6.15% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 27.04% | 9.33% |
| Category | HYD | MUB |
|---|---|---|
| Fund name | VanEck High Yield Muni ETF | iShares National Muni Bond ETF |
| Type | ETF | ETF |
| Expense ratioi | 0.32% | 0.05% |
| Total assets (AUM)i | $3.89B | $46.62B |
| Dividend yieldi | 4.62% | 3.40% |
- Higher tax-equivalent yields than investment-grade munis for high-bracket taxpayers — a high yield muni yielding 4.5% tax-exempt is equivalent to a taxable bond yielding 7.5%+ for investors in the 40%+ combined federal/state bracket; this yield pickup is the primary reason to hold high yield munis
- Municipal bond defaults are historically lower than equivalent corporate bond defaults — while municipal bonds can and do default (Detroit 2013, Puerto Rico 2016, various hospital and senior living facility bonds), the overall municipal default rate is lower than corporate bonds at comparable credit ratings; the governmental/public benefit nature of many muni projects provides additional political support
- Monthly income distributions with federal tax exemption suit income-focused high-tax-bracket investors — the combination of monthly income and federal (and often state) tax exemption makes HYD efficient for taxable accounts of high-bracket investors
- Extremely low expense ratio (0.05%) for investment-grade municipal bond exposure — MUB's near-zero cost is well below most actively managed muni mutual funds (0.40-1.00%); the cost advantage compounds significantly over long holding periods
- Broad investment-grade credit quality reduces credit risk to very low levels — MUB's 5,000-6,000 bond portfolio of investment-grade munis provides excellent diversification; the probability of significant losses from credit events in an investment-grade muni portfolio is very low
- Largest muni ETF with exceptional trading liquidity — MUB's $25B+ AUM makes it extremely liquid; institutional-scale trades execute at tight spreads; MUB is often used by institutions for core tax-exempt fixed income allocations
- High yield municipal default risk is real and episodic — Puerto Rico's $70+ billion debt restructuring, Detroit's municipal bankruptcy, and periodic hospital/senior living facility defaults demonstrate that high yield munis do default; credit research matters significantly in high yield munis
- Credit quality concentration in specific sectors (hospitals, senior living, project finance) creates sector risk — high yield munis are heavily concentrated in healthcare (hospital bonds, continuing care retirement communities), which faced severe stress in 2020 COVID; sector diversification is limited in high yield munis
- Muni market liquidity is lower than comparable corporate or treasury bond markets — municipal bonds are a fragmented, dealer-driven OTC market; many high yield muni bonds are small issues with limited secondary market trading; liquidity can deteriorate significantly in stress environments
- Lower yield than high yield munis — investment-grade munis have lower yields than high yield munis; for investors willing to accept credit risk, HYD provides significantly higher tax-exempt income than MUB
- Interest rate sensitivity — investment-grade muni bonds have longer duration than high yield munis (higher quality bonds are often longer maturity); MUB's portfolio has meaningful interest rate risk; rising rates cause MUB's share price to decline
- AMT exposure — MUB specifically excludes Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) bonds; investors subject to the AMT should confirm their muni holdings' AMT status; private activity bonds (PABs) are excluded from MUB
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