ETF Evaluator:
State Street® Nuveen Municipal Bond ETF ()
Follow This ETF
(as of Aug 26)
Best Performing in Muni National Interm Over the Last Year
| 7.5% | Simplify National Muni Bond ETF (NMB) |
| 6.9% | X-Square Municipal Income Tax Free ETF (ZTAX) |
| 6.3% | BNY Mellon Municipal Opportunities ETF (BMOP) |
| 6.2% | PIMCO Muncpl Income Oppos Act Ex-Trd (MINO) |
| 6.0% | American Century Divers Muncpl Bd ETF (TAXF) |
Risk
Index
Risk
Index
ETF Details
State Street® Nuveen Municipal Bond ETF Overview
State Street® Nuveen Municipal Bond ETF (MBND) is an actively managed Municipal Bond Muni National Interm exchange-traded fund (ETF). State Street Investment Management launched the ETF in 2021.
The investment seeks to provide current income that is exempt from regular federal income taxes; capital appreciation is a secondary objective when consistent with the fund's primary objective.
under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of borrowings for investment purposes) in municipal bonds that pay income that is exempt from regular federal income tax. Its investment portfolio will will consist primarily of municipal bonds rated Baa3/BBB-/BBB- or higher by Moody's, S&P or Fitch Ratings, Inc., respectively. The fund is non-diversified.
About State Street® Nuveen Municipal Bond ETF (MBND)
There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 5.12 years: Joel Levy (2021) and Timothy Ryan (2021). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.
The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Bloomberg Municipal 3-15Y Blend 2-17Y TR index with a weighting of 100%. State Street® Nuveen Municipal Bond ETF has 75 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 25.9% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a nondiversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
State Street® Nuveen Municipal Bond ETF is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Municipal Bond ETF group. State Street® Nuveen Municipal Bond ETF has 0.0% 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 98.2% (98.2% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). State Street® Nuveen Municipal Bond ETF has 1.8% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $26 million in total assets, which is below the $2 billion average for the Muni National Interm 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.
MBND 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 State Street® Nuveen Municipal Bond ETF expense ratio is average compared to funds in the Muni National Interm category. State Street® Nuveen Municipal Bond ETF has an expense ratio of 0.40%, which is 41% 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. State Street® Nuveen Municipal Bond ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 55%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 41% for the Muni National Interm category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, State Street® Nuveen Municipal Bond ETF returned -1.6%, which earned it a grade of C, as the Muni National Interm category had an average return of -1.6%. 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.
State Street® Nuveen Municipal Bond ETF has a trailing yield of 3.50%, which is below the 3.53% category average.
The fund normally distributes its income monthly.
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.
State Street® Nuveen Municipal Bond ETF Grades
Year to date, the ETF has returned -0.3%, 0.7 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 3.9% over the past year (grade of F), 3.1% over the past three years (grade of C) and 0.5% per year over the past five years (grade of D).
For more ETF grades, analysis and screening tools to help your investment discovery, join AAII for a $2, full-access trial. Learn more here: https://invest.aaii.com/membership.
Otherwise, for more information about State Street® Nuveen Municipal Bond ETF, including its riskiness, submit your email to unlock the rest of the article.
Gain access to exclusive AAII member-only content.
MBND Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| MBND Return (NAV) | -1.6% | -0.6% | 3.9% | 3.1% | 0.5% | na |
| MBND Return (Price) | -1.6% | -0.7% | 3.5% | 3.0% | 0.4% | na |
| NAV +/- Price Return | 0.041% | 0.111% | 0.433% | 0.161% | 0.115% | na |
| Muni National Interm Avg | -1.6% | -0.5% | 4.9% | 3.3% | 0.6% | 1.9% |
| MBND Grade (NAV) | C | D | F | C | D | na |
| +/- Category (NAV) | 0.0% | -0.1% | -1.0% | -0.2% | -0.1% | na |
| MBND Tax-Cost Ratio | na | na | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | na |
MBND Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| MBND Return (NAV) | -0.3% | 3.9% | 2.3% | 6.8% | -8.8% | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| MBND Return (Price) | -0.3% | 2.9% | 2.8% | 6.6% | -8.6% | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| NAV +/- Price Ret | -0.230% | -0.256% | 0.178% | -0.034% | -0.019% | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| Muni National Interm Avg | 0.4% | 4.7% | 2.0% | 6.1% | -8.1% | 1.6% | 5.0% | 7.7% | 1.2% | 5.2% | 0.1% |
| MBND Grade (NAV) | F | D | B | A | D | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| +/- Category | -0.7% | -0.8% | 0.4% | 0.7% | -0.7% | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| Risk Measures | |
| Beta: | 0.84 |
| R-Squared: | 97% |
| Standard Deviation: | 4.9% |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.98 |
| Category Risk Rating: | Average |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.40 |
| Total Risk Rating: | Low |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Yield: | 3.5% |
| Total Assets: | $ 27 Mil |
| Share Class Assets: | $ 27 Mil |
| Turnover: | 55.0% |
| Expense Ratio: | 0.40% |
| Index Fund: | No |
| Index Tracked: | Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD |
| Index Weighting: | 100% |
| Leveraged: | No |
| Socially Responsible Fund: | No |
| Capital Gains Distribution Frequency: | |
| Income Distribution Frequency: | Monthly |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 2 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 5.5 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 5.1 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Ryan Timothy (2021), Levy Joel (2021) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 7/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 75 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 25.9% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | Yes |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 0.0% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 98.2% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 1.8% |
Purchase Information
| Legal Structure: | Open Ended Investment Company |
| Fund Family: | State Street Investment Management |
| Phone Number: | 866-787-2257 |
| Website: | www.spdrs.com |
| Inception Date: | February 4, 2021 |
Expenses and Fees
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.40% (Rating: Avg) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.28% |