Which returned more over the last year, MEAR or SUB?

In the year to Oct 9, 2026, with distributions reinvested, MEAR returned +1.4% and SUB +0.8%.

Which is cheaper, MEAR or SUB?

SUB is cheaper, by 0.19 percentage points a year. That is about $19 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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MEAR vs SUB: Differences, Returns & Fees

MEAR's duration was 1.3 years on Jul 31, 2026 and SUB's 1.8 on May 31, 2026; SUB charges 0.07% to MEAR's 0.26%. Net assets on Oct 9, 2026: $1.4bn for iShares Short Maturity Municipal Bond Active ETF and $12.3bn for iShares Short-Term National Muni Bond ETF.

SUB costs 0.19 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.6 points; SUB is 8.5 times larger.

	MEAR	SUB
Expense ratio	0.26%	0.07%
Net assets	$1.4bn	$12.3bn
Total return, 1 year	+1.4%	+0.8%
What it tracks	No index, actively managed	ICE Short Maturity AMT-Free US National Municipal Index
Holdings in common	0%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026.

+1.4%

MEAR total return, 1 year

+0.8%

SUB total return, 1 year

0.26%

MEAR expense ratio

0.07%

SUB expense ratio

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, MEAR and SUB hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026.

50%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold, largest shared weight first

Holding MEAR SUB

State of North Carolina, Series 2025, due Mar 1, 2027 0.37% 0.06%

Oregon State Lottery, Series 2025A, due Apr 1, 2028 0.53% 0.05%

Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Series 2005D2, due Nov 1, 2035 0.54% 0.05%

City of Houston Combined Utility System, Series 2018C, due May 15, 2034 0.04% 0.21%

State of Oregon Department of Transportation, Series B, due Nov 15, 2029 0.17% 0.03%

State of Illinois, Series 2024B, due May 1, 2028 0.12% 0.03%

City of Atlanta Water & Wastewater, Series 2026, due Nov 1, 2030 0.18% 0.02%

State of California, due Mar 1, 2030 0.18% 0.02%

Plano Independent School District, Series 2025, due Feb 15, 2029 0.35% 0.02%

City of Kansas City, Series 2025C, due Apr 1, 2030 0.10% 0.01%

Texas Transportation Commission, Series 2026, due Apr 1, 2031 0.24% 0.01%

Lewisville Independent School District, Series 2025, due Aug 15, 2029 0.14% 0.01%

Only in MEAR

Parish of St. James, Series 2010B-1, due Nov 1, 2040 2.25%

Iowa Finance Authority, Series 2021, due Dec 1, 2041 2.18%

Main Street Natural Gas, Inc., Series 2023A, due Jun 1, 2053 1.90%

PEFA, Inc., Series 2019, due Sep 1, 2049 1.78%

Texas Municipal Gas Acquisition & Supply Corp. IV, Series 2023A, due Jan 1, 2054 1.72%

City of Burlington, Series 2007A, due Sep 1, 2035 1.62%

South Dakota Housing Development Authority, Series 2025G, due Nov 1, 2050 1.50%

Kentucky Public Energy Authority, Series 2025A, due Jun 1, 2055 1.39%

Only in SUB

New Jersey Economic Development Authority, Series 2023RRR, due Mar 1, 2028 0.37%

County of King, Series 2024, due Jan 1, 2042 0.35%

San Antonio Water System, Series 2025D, due May 1, 2055 0.28%

City of Seattle, Series 2023B, due Nov 1, 2046 0.27%

State of California, due Aug 1, 2029 0.27%

Empire State Development Corp., Series 2022A, due Sep 15, 2028 0.25%

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, Series 2023B, due Dec 1, 2043 0.25%

University of California, Series 2025CD, due May 15, 2030 0.25%

Check overlap with more funds →

On the same fields

MEAR

iShares Short Maturity Municipal Bond Active ETF

SUB

iShares Short-Term National Muni Bond ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Actively managed Tracks an index

Total return, 1 year +1.4% +0.8%

S&P 500 over the same days +17.3% +17.3%

Gap to the S&P 500 −15.8 pts −16.4 pts

Expense ratio 0.26% 0.07%

Holdings 351 3057

Net assets $1.4bn $12.3bn

MEAR and SUB on the fields both publish, as of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

MEAR in plain words

MEAR is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +1.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.26% a year.

SUB in plain words

SUB tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +0.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.07% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, MEAR or SUB?: In the year to Oct 9, 2026, with distributions reinvested, MEAR returned +1.4% and SUB +0.8%.
Which is cheaper, MEAR or SUB?: SUB is cheaper, by 0.19 percentage points a year. That is about $19 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

MEAR vs SHM MEAR vs SMMU JMST vs MEAR MEAR vs VTES SUB vs TAFI SMMU vs SUB SUB vs VTES CGSM vs SUB

MEAR on its own →SUB on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →Standards and sources →

Where these figures came from

MEAR filings on SEC EDGAR ↗MEAR prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗iShares page for MEAR ↗SUB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗SUB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗iShares page for SUB ↗

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure; a link is not an endorsement. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, MEAR against SUB, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/mear-vs-sub

Open data

Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.