ETF Evaluator: BNY Mellon Municipal Short Duration ETF () Follow This ETF

BNY Mellon Municipal Short Duration ETF Overview

BNY Mellon Municipal Short Duration ETF (BKMS) is an actively managed Municipal Bond Muni National Short exchange-traded fund (ETF). BNY Mellon launched the ETF in 2000.

The investment seeks to maximize current income exempt from federal income tax to the extent consistent with the preservation of capital. The fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in municipal bonds that provide income exempt from federal personal income tax. Generally, its average effective portfolio maturity and the average effective duration of the fund's portfolio will be less than three years. The fund may invest in individual municipal and taxable bonds of any maturity or duration.

About BNY Mellon Municipal Short Duration ETF (BKMS)

There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 0.56 years: Gregory Conant (2026) and Thomas Casey (2026). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg Municipal TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Bloomberg Municipal 1-3 Yr TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. BNY Mellon Municipal Short Duration ETF has 250 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 15.0% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

BNY Mellon Municipal Short Duration ETF is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Municipal Bond ETF group. BNY Mellon Municipal Short Duration ETF has 0.9% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.0% There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 99.1% (98.3% domestic bond, 0.9% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). BNY Mellon Municipal Short Duration ETF has 0.9% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $427 million in total assets, which is below the $1 billion average for the Muni National Short category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.

BKMS Performance and Fees

The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The BNY Mellon Municipal Short Duration ETF expense ratio is below average compared to funds in the Muni National Short category. BNY Mellon Municipal Short Duration ETF has an expense ratio of 0.35%, which is 66% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a F. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.

High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. BNY Mellon Municipal Short Duration ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 88%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 56% for the Muni National Short category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, BNY Mellon Municipal Short Duration ETF returned -0.2%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Muni National Short category had an average return of -0.2%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all ETFs in that category.

BNY Mellon Municipal Short Duration ETF has a trailing yield of 2.50%, which is below the 2.91% category average. The fund normally distributes its income monthly and its capital gains annually.

It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.

BNY Mellon Municipal Short Duration ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 1.0%, 0.1 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of C. The fund has returned 2.3% over the past year (grade of D), 3.2% over the past three years (grade of C) and 1.6% per year over the past five years (grade of C) and 1.5% per year over the past 10 years (grade of C).

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