ALPS Intermediate Municipal Bond ETF

ALPS Intermediate Municipal Bond ETF (MNBD) is an actively managed fund that holds investment-grade municipal bonds, whose interest is generally free of federal income tax. Sub-adviser Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. picks the bonds. It pays income monthly, and from its May 2022 launch through December 31, 2025, it beat its Bloomberg benchmark. The trade-off is cost: its 0.44% expense ratio is above the 0.29% average of similar funds.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, MNBD returned +0.6%, 1st of 8 among similar funds.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2024 (+2.4%); its best was 2023 (+6.1%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 5.9% (Aug 4, 2022 to Oct 24, 2022), recovered by Jan 12, 2023.

As of May 31, 2026, the fund held 189 securities; the ten largest made up 15.73% of assets.

The bonds mature in 16.6 years on average (weighted by size), with an average coupon of 3.84%.

• Over the three months to May 31, 2026, investors added a net $5.9M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: -1.96%, +0.84%, +0.40%.

MNBD does not track an index. Its sub-adviser, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. (BBH), picks bonds one at a time using bottom-up fundamental analysis. That means studying each borrower's finances rather than starting from an economic forecast. BBH also manages the fund with taxes in mind. At least 80% of net assets go into municipal bonds whose interest is generally excluded from federal income tax, though some of it may count toward the alternative minimum tax. Bonds must be rated BBB or higher (investment grade) when bought, or judged to be of similar quality by BBH. Performance is measured against the Bloomberg Municipal Bond 1-15 Year Blend Index.

The fund owns general obligation bonds, which are backed by a government's taxing power, and revenue bonds, which are paid from a specific income stream such as tolls. Up to 20% can go into Treasuries, corporate bonds or mortgage-backed securities. No more than 25% can be in one type of project, such as airports, but more than 25% can come from one state. The fund targets an average duration of 3 to 7 years. Duration measures how sensitive a bond's price is to interest rates. The fund may use futures, swaps and options, but it held none as of May 31, 2026.

On that date it held 190 positions. The 10 largest made up 15.7% of assets, led by Southeast Energy Authority (1.9%). Turnover was 98%, a sign of active trading.

• MNBD charges 0.44% a year, versus an average of 0.29% for the similar funds below (7th of 8, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $45 in the first year and $554 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

MNBD pays monthly interest that is generally exempt from federal income tax, and its price has moved far less than stocks.

MNBD may add steady monthly income to a taxable account, with most of that income generally free of federal tax. Its trailing 12-month yield was 3.48% as of October 27, 2026. Its record is short. It launched in May 2022, so it missed the 2008 and 2020 crashes and the start of the 2022 bear market. Its deepest drop, 5.9%, ran from August to October 2022 and was recovered by January 12, 2023, about 2.6 months later. Every full calendar year has been positive, and the weakest was 2024 at 2.28%. So far, a retiree who had to sell in a bad stretch would have taken only modest losses. A sharp rise in interest rates could cause bigger ones. Costs are 0.44% a year, or $45 on $10,000 in the first year under the SEC's standard example. Past results don't predict future returns, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by bond funds with the closest average maturity and issuer mix (N-PORT).