Weekly Channel Summary
The Municipal ETF channel closed the week with total assets of $234.29B spread across 145 funds from 50 issuers. Investors added $4,856M over the trailing five days, extending a strong 2026 trend that has pushed year-to-date net flows to $59,271M and one-year net flows to $73,645M. The sustained inflow pace over the past year underscores continued investor appetite for tax-advantaged fixed income exposure despite mixed longer-term price performance across segments.
This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards
On a week-to-date basis, all five municipal categories posted positive returns at the market-price level, led by Municipal – Short at 0.18% and Municipal – High Yield close behind at 0.17%. Municipal – Long trailed the group with a modest 0.02% WTD gain, consistent with its weaker longer-term trend, as it also carries the steepest YTD decline at -5.14% among the categories. Looking at year-to-date figures, Municipal – Short is the only segment in positive territory at 0.25%, while Intermediate and Single State are both down roughly 3.3% and High Yield is off 2.84%. HYMB led all funds for the week with a 0.82% gain, followed by MUST at 0.73%, while ZTAX was a clear outlier on the downside, falling 17.62% for the week.
Category Performance Snapshot
| Category | WTD | 1 Month | 3 Month | 6 Month | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Municipal – Short | 0.18% | -0.64% | -0.82% | -0.32% | 0.25% | 0.93% |
| Municipal – High Yield | 0.17% | -2.95% | -5.84% | -4.09% | -2.84% | -1.26% |
| Municipal – Intermediate | 0.10% | -2.23% | -4.81% | -4.01% | -3.29% | -2.05% |
| Municipal – Single State | 0.10% | -2.26% | -4.85% | -3.95% | -3.29% | -2.06% |
| Municipal – Long | 0.02% | -3.62% | -7.64% | -6.45% | -5.14% | -3.96% |
Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance
Among top performers, HYMB and MUST posted the strongest weekly gains at 0.82% and 0.73%, respectively, with AVMU, TAXT, and SHYD rounding out the top five with gains between 0.45% and 0.65%. On the opposite end, ZTAX stood out sharply with a 17.62% weekly decline, far exceeding the next-largest decliner, NHYM, which slipped 1.04%. The remainder of the bottom five, including MNBD, RTAI, and VMHY, posted more modest declines between 0.76% and 0.85%, reflecting broader softness concentrated in intermediate and high-yield exposures despite the positive overall weekly tone.
| Ticker | Fund Name | WTD Performance |
|---|---|---|
| Top Performers | ||
| HYMB | State Street SPDR Nuveen ICE High Yield Municipal Bond ETF | 0.82% |
| MUST | Columbia Multi-Sector Municipal Income ETF | 0.73% |
| AVMU | Avantis Core Municipal Fixed Income ETF | 0.65% |
| TAXT | Northern Trust Tax-Exempt Bond ETF | 0.49% |
| SHYD | VanEck Short High Yield Muni ETF | 0.45% |
| Bottom Performers | ||
| ZTAX | X-Square Municipal Income ETF | -17.62% |
| NHYM | Nuveen High Yield Municipal Income ETF | -1.04% |
| MNBD | ALPS BBH Intermediate Municipal Bond ETF | -0.85% |
| RTAI | Rareview Tax Advantaged Income ETF | -0.78% |
| VMHY | VictoryShares Municipal High Yield ETF | -0.76% |
Analyzing the Weekly Flows
The Municipal channel attracted $4,856M in net inflows over the week, with every category registering positive flows. Municipal – Intermediate led by a wide margin at $2,369M, consistent with its scale as the largest segment by AUM at $151.25B, followed by Municipal – Short at $1,111M. Municipal – Single State and Municipal – High Yield added $630M and $582M, respectively, while Municipal – Long rounded out the group with $164M. The breadth of inflows across all five categories signals broad-based demand for municipal exposure this week rather than concentration in a single duration or credit profile.
Category Flows Summary
| Category | Fund Count | AUM | 5 Day | 30 Day | 90 Day | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Municipal – Intermediate | 57 | $151.25B | $2,369M | $12,611M | $17,813M | $35,287M | $44,624M |
| Municipal – Short | 27 | $38.43B | $1,111M | $3,646M | $5,522M | $9,793M | $12,552M |
| Municipal – Single State | 31 | $19.78B | $630M | $1,709M | $2,871M | $6,768M | $7,823M |
| Municipal – High Yield | 21 | $17.71B | $582M | $1,179M | $2,093M | $4,122M | $5,324M |
| Municipal – Long | 9 | $7.12B | $164M | $97M | $496M | $3,301M | $3,322M |
Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow
Flow activity at the fund level was led decisively by MUB, which pulled in $1,004M for the week, well ahead of SUB‘s $360M. TAFM, CGHM, and VTEC also saw healthy inflows ranging from $209M to $220M, rounding out the top five. On the outflow side, redemptions were comparatively modest, with BKMI losing $71M and DFCA shedding $32M, the two largest weekly outflows in the channel. The gap between the largest inflow and the largest outflow highlights the concentrated nature of this week’s demand around a handful of broad, large-scale municipal strategies.
| Ticker | Fund Name | 5-Day Flow |
|---|---|---|
| Inflows | ||
| MUB | iShares National Muni Bond ETF | $1,004M |
| SUB | iShares Short-Term National Muni Bond ETF | $360M |
| TAFM | AB Tax-Aware Intermediate Municipal ETF | $220M |
| CGHM | Capital Group Municipal High-Income ETF | $210M |
| VTEC | Vanguard California Tax-Exempt Bond ETF | $209M |
| Outflows | ||
| BKMI | BNY Mellon Municipal Intermediate ETF | -$71M |
| DFCA | Dimensional California Municipal Bond ETF | -$32M |
| PWZ | Invesco California AMT-Free Municipal Bond ETF | -$31M |
| FLMI | Franklin Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF | -$30M |
| SCMB | Schwab Municipal Bond ETF | -$19M |
Issuer League Table Update
iShares remains the dominant issuer in the Municipal channel with $75.02B in assets and a 32.02% share, followed by Vanguard at $64.10B and 27.36% share; together the two firms control nearly 60% of channel assets. iShares also led weekly inflows by a wide margin at $1,774M, followed by Vanguard at $917M and JPMorgan at $371M, reinforcing the concentration of both assets and flows among the largest providers. On the outflow side, BNY Mellon recorded the largest weekly redemptions at $76M, followed by First Trust at $26M and Invesco at $25M. The contrast between the scale of inflows at the top issuers and the comparatively small outflows elsewhere underscores a generally stable, inflow-dominant week across the issuer landscape.
Top 5 Issuers by AUM
| Brand | Fund Count | AUM | AUM Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| iShares | 10 | $75.02B | 32.02% |
| Vanguard | 8 | $64.10B | 27.36% |
| JPMorgan | 6 | $17.94B | 7.66% |
| Capital Group | 3 | $12.07B | 5.15% |
| SPDR | 4 | $9.99B | 4.27% |
Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow
| Brand | 5-Day Flow |
|---|---|
| Inflows | |
| iShares | $1,774M |
| Vanguard | $917M |
| JPMorgan | $371M |
| Outflows | |
| BNY Mellon | -$76M |
| First Trust | -$26M |
| Invesco | -$25M |
For a deeper dive into these trends, access our FREE, in-depth Municipal ETF reports in the right side panel of this page.
Disclosures
This material is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. All investments, including ETFs, involve risk, including the possible loss of principal. Investors should consider their investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses carefully before investing.
This analysis was developed by the team at ETF Action. We leverage advanced AI tools to assist in the drafting and refinement of our content, based on our expert prompts, direction, and final review.
