ETF Education Report: MNBD

What this ETF is trying to do

The ALPS | BBH INTERMEDIATE MUNICIPAL BOND ETF (ticker: MNBD) is an exchange-traded fund. Based on its name, it focuses on intermediate municipal bonds. Municipal bonds are loans made to local governments.

What the numbers show

It is important to understand that "price return" and "total return" tell different stories. Price return only tracks how the share price moves. Total return includes both the price movement and the cash distributions paid out to investors.

Here is what the data shows:

• Year-to-Date (YTD): The price return is approximately -3.66%. However, the total return is -1.26%.

• One Year: The price return was approximately -3.17%, while the total return was approximately 0.12%.

• Three Year: The price return was approximately 1.85%, while the total return was approximately 13.39%.

To visualize the price change, we can look at an estimated price from roughly one year ago. The price was approximately $25.84, and the current price is $25.02.

Income and distribution explanation

This ETF provides cash distributions to investors. The distribution yield is approximately 3.46%. This number describes the cash paid out relative to the current ETF price. These payments usually happen monthly, with 12 payments recorded over the last year.

It is important to remember that a high distribution yield is not the same as total return. While distributions provide cash income, they do not guarantee that your original investment will stay the same value.

NAV erosion explanation

"NAV erosion" is a term used to describe when the value of the underlying assets in a fund decreases over time. StockValueFinder uses an "erosion-risk score" to measure this risk.

For MNBD, the erosion-risk score is 94. This is labeled as "Stable / sideways," and the erosion severity is rated as "good." There is no severe erosion-risk flag for this ETF.

Pros

• The fund has a history of positive total returns over the one-year and three-year periods.

• The erosion-risk score suggests the fund is currently considered stable.

Cons

• The share price has seen a decline recently, as shown by the negative year-to-date and one-year price returns.

• Total return data for a five-year period was not supplied.

Beginner takeaway

When looking at MNBD, notice the difference between the share price and the total return. While the share price has gone down in some timeframes, the total return (which includes cash payments) tells a different story. Always look at both numbers to get a full picture of how an ETF is performing.