ETF Evaluator: iShares High Yield Muni Active ETF () Follow This ETF

iShares High Yield Muni Active ETF Overview

iShares High Yield Muni Active ETF (HIMU) is an actively managed Municipal Bond High Yield Muni exchange-traded fund (ETF). iShares launched the ETF in 2006.

The investment seeks to provide shareholders with as high a level of income exempt from federal income taxes as is consistent with the investment policies of the fund. Under normal circumstances, the fund seeks to achieve its objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in municipal bonds.

About iShares High Yield Muni Active ETF (HIMU)

There are 5 members of the management team with an average tenure of 6.45 years: Phillip Soccio (2022), Kevin Maloney (2022), Ryan McDonald (2023), Patrick Haskell (2025) and Walter O’Connor (2006). 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 High Yield TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. iShares High Yield Muni Active ETF has 916 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 18.4% 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.

iShares High Yield Muni Active ETF is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Municipal Bond ETF group. iShares High Yield Muni Active ETF has 7.1% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.4% 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 92.7% (85.6% domestic bond, 7.1% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). iShares High Yield Muni Active ETF has 6.9% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $2 billion in total assets, which is above the $990 million average for the High Yield Muni 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.

HIMU 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 iShares High Yield Muni Active ETF expense ratio is below average compared to funds in the High Yield Muni category. iShares High Yield Muni Active ETF has an expense ratio of 0.39%, which is 35% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a C. 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. iShares High Yield Muni Active ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 30%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 38% for the High Yield Muni category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, iShares High Yield Muni Active ETF returned -2.2%, which earned it a grade of F, as the High Yield Muni category had an average return of -1.8%. 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.

iShares High Yield Muni Active ETF has a trailing yield of 5.21%, which is above the 4.58% 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.

iShares High Yield Muni Active ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 2.3%, 0.4 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of B. The fund has returned 7.7% over the past year (grade of C), 5.3% over the past three years (grade of A) and 0.4% per year over the past five years (grade of C) and 3.0% per year over the past 10 years (grade of A).

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