Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are investment vehicles that trade like stocks, but like a mutual fund hold a bundle of securities. Municipal Bond ETFs invest primarily in municipal bonds issued by local and state government for the purpose of funding various projects.
3 Benefits of Municipal Bond ETFs:
- ETFs offer lower fees when compared to other investment funds and vehicles, such as mutual funds.
- They provide diversification in the basket of municipal bond holdings in the ETF, which lowers portfolio market risk.
- It’s easy to gain exposure to many municipal bonds with just one vehicle (ETF).
Below, we’ve provided a sample list of the major municipal bond ETFs.
Symbol | ETF Name | Issuer | Expense Ratio |
---|---|---|---|
FMB | First Trust Managed Municipal ETF | First Trust | 0.5 |
RVNU | Deutsche X-trackers Municipal Infrastructure Revenue Bond ETF | Deutsche Asset Management | 0.3 |
MLN | VanEck Vectors AMT-Free Long Municipal Index ETF | VanEck | 0.24 |
XMPT | VanEck Vectors CEFMunicipal Income ETF | VanEck | 1.65 |
PZA | PowerShares National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Portfolio ETF | Invesco | 0.28 |
ITM | VanEck Vectors AMT-Free Intermediate Municipal Index ETF | VanEck | 0.24 |
GMMB | Columbia Intermediate Municipal Bond ETF | Columbia | 0.42 |
VTEB | Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF | Vanguard | 0.12 |
TFI | SPDR Nuveen Barclays Municipal Bond ETF | State Street SPDR | 0.23 |
IBMK | iBonds Dec 2022 Term Muni Bond ETF | iShares | 0.18 |
Please note that ETFs may have different tax implications and liquidity than regular bonds, so speak to a professional financial advisor first.