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

In the year to Oct 9, 2026, with distributions reinvested, MEAR returned +1.4% and TAFI +0.5%.

Which is cheaper, MEAR or TAFI?

MEAR is cheaper, by 0.01 percentage points a year. That is about $1 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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MEAR vs TAFI: Differences, Returns & Fees

MEAR's duration was 1.3 years on Jul 31, 2026 and TAFI's 1.9 on May 31, 2026; MEAR charges 0.26% to TAFI's 0.27%. Net assets: $1.4bn on Oct 9, 2026 for iShares Short Maturity Municipal Bond Active ETF, and $1.4bn on Oct 8, 2026 for AB Tax-Aware Short Duration Municipal ETF.

MEAR costs 0.01 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.9 points.

	MEAR	TAFI
Expense ratio	0.26%	0.27%
Net assets, as of Oct 8, 2026	$1.4bn	$1.4bn
Total return, 1 year	+1.4%	+0.5%
What it tracks	No index, actively managed	No index, actively managed
Holdings in common	3%

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

+1.4%

MEAR total return, 1 year

+0.5%

TAFI total return, 1 year

0.26%

MEAR expense ratio

0.27%

TAFI expense ratio

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, MEAR and TAFI hold 3% 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

3% in common

Positions both hold, largest shared weight first

Holding MEAR TAFI

Texas Municipal Gas Acquisition & Supply Corp. IV, Series 2023A, due Jan 1, 2054 1.72% 0.34%

California Community Choice Financing Authority, Series 2023B-1, due Jul 1, 2053 0.34% 0.25%

Kentucky Public Energy Authority, Series 2024A, due May 1, 2055 0.82% 0.25%

Southeast Energy Authority A Cooperative District, Series 2025E, due Oct 1, 2030 0.47% 0.17%

Tarrant County Cultural Education Facilities Finance Corp., Series 2025B, due Nov 15, 2064 0.78% 0.17%

Main Street Natural Gas, Inc., Series 2023A, due Jun 1, 2053 1.90% 0.17%

Tennessee Energy Acquisition Corp., Series 2023A-1, due May 1, 2053 0.38% 0.16%

Tennergy Corp., Series 2022A, due Oct 1, 2053 0.39% 0.13%

County of Fulton, due Dec 30, 2026 0.48% 0.12%

City & County of Denver Airport System, Series 2018A, due Dec 1, 2030 0.39% 0.12%

State of Illinois, Series 2024B, due May 1, 2028 0.12% 0.10%

Lancaster Port Authority, Series 2024A, due Feb 1, 2055 0.17% 0.08%

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%

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

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

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

Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, Series 2016B, Sub-Series B-4, due Nov 15, 2046 1.26%

General Authority of Southcentral Pennsylvania, Series 2019E, due Jun 1, 2035 1.25%

New York State Housing Finance Agency, Series 2025D-2, due May 1, 2065 1.02%

Only in TAFI

COLORADO ST EDUC LOAN PROGRAM, due Jun 30, 2026 1.53%

TRIBOROUGH NY BRIDGE & TUNNEL AUTH REVENUES, due Jan 1, 2031 0.97%

QUINCY MA, due Jul 24, 2026 0.68%

PUERTO RICO CMWLTH, due Jul 1, 2027 0.63%

UNIV OF CALIFORNIA CA REVENUES, due May 15, 2030 0.61%

ILLINOIS ST FIN AUTH REVENUE, due Nov 15, 2037 0.56%

NEW YORK ST TRANSPRTN DEV CORP SPL FAC REVENUE, due Jan 1, 2030 0.55%

COLORADO ST EDUC LOAN PROGRAM, due Jun 30, 2026 0.53%

Check overlap with more funds →

On the same fields

MEAR

iShares Short Maturity Municipal Bond Active ETF

TAFI

AB Tax-Aware Short Duration Municipal ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares AllianceBernstein

What it is Actively managed Actively managed

Total return, 1 year +1.4% +0.5%

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

Gap to the S&P 500 −15.8 pts −16.8 pts

Expense ratio 0.26% 0.27%

Holdings 351 684

Net assets, MEAR as of Oct 9, 2026 and TAFI as of Oct 8, 2026 $1.4bn $1.4bn

MEAR and TAFI 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.

TAFI in plain words

TAFI is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +0.5% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.27% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, MEAR or TAFI?: In the year to Oct 9, 2026, with distributions reinvested, MEAR returned +1.4% and TAFI +0.5%.
Which is cheaper, MEAR or TAFI?: MEAR is cheaper, by 0.01 percentage points a year. That is about $1 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

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

MEAR on its own →TAFI 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 ↗TAFI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗TAFI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

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 TAFI, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/mear-vs-tafi

Open data

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