The best tax -
free municipal bond funds should offer reasonable management fees and expenses that are comparable to similar products.
Closed -
end municipal bond funds provide income that is exempt from federal taxes, but investors should be selective when choosing among them.
Keep in mind that the local political climate, state legislation and the financial strength of the issuer can all affect how single -
state municipal bond funds perform.
There are
municipal bond funds with a «tax equivalent» yield of 5.5 % or 6 % — heavily dependent on your tax bracket I suppose.
High net worth investors may only have a small portion of their funds invested in a core bond fund and opt for more tax efficient options
like municipal bond funds instead.
Most individuals hold municipal bonds in one of two ways — either they own the bond outright, or they
own municipal bond funds.
Understand how the addition of municipal bond mutual funds can enhance a portfolio, and learn the top -
rated municipal bond funds to consider for 2016.
A short -
term municipal bond fund, invested in high credit quality names, can act as a buffer for your riskier investment choices, no matter your age.
For
national municipal bond funds, average returns were — 12 %, with the best performers posting losses of — 5 % to the worst, around — 20 % or higher.
Certain money market funds specialize in one type of money market security, such as tax -
free municipal bond funds, but most include a mix of various security types.
My assumed return was 6.5 % (one can get nearly 7 %
in municipal bond funds that I'm comfortable with, so my assumption is a fairly conservative one).
Fidelity ® Conservative
Income Municipal Bond Fund (FCRDX) This fund, whose income is normally exempt from federal income taxes, might be appropriate for investors looking for more yield than money market funds are providing, and wanting to take a more conservative approach to both credit and interest rate risk than many other bond funds.
A growing chorus of fixed income advisors are warning that the so - called SALT deductions passed by Congress are likely to blunt the appeal of certain types
of municipal bond funds for affluent investors.
Like Fidelity's
other municipal bond funds, DMFs offer professional management, diversification, and seek to provide federally tax - exempt income.
Today, we're one of the
largest municipal bond fund managers in the nation1, and have more than $ 71 billion in municipal bond assets under management.2
If your goal is to seek an overall tax advantage: Consider an investment -
grade municipal bond fund with income that is usually exempt from federal income tax.4
For example, Morningstar found that following five
Vanguard municipal bond funds have increased their expense ratios (ERs) by a third this year, from 0.15 % to 0.20 %:
Interest income generated
by municipal bond funds is generally not subject to federal taxes, and may be tax - exempt at the state and local level as well, if the bonds held by the fund were issued by the state in which you live.
Although municipal bond yields are generally lower than taxable bond fund yields, some investors in higher tax brackets may find they have a higher after - tax yield from a tax - free
municipal bond fund investment instead of a taxable bond fund investment.
We think a look at a popular active New
York municipal bond fund compared to an S&P Dow Jones index makes this point clear.
For the second week in a
row municipal bond funds (ex-ETFs) witnessed net outflows, handing back $ 372 million while posting a gain of 0.12 % on average for the fund - flows week.
As for Bill Gross, the king of the bond kings, he recommends
buying municipal bonds funds that trade at a discount of at least 10 % to net asset value (NAV) and a 5 % yield or higher.
Short - Intermediate
Municipal Bond Fund seeks a high level of current income exempt from federal income tax consistent with relative stability of principal.