Municipal ETFs Attract Nearly $1.7 Billion in New Assets Despite Broad Performance Declines

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Weekly Channel Summary

The Municipal ETF channel holds $222.37 billion in assets under management across 139 funds from 49 different issuers. Investors continued to allocate capital to the space, adding $1,679 million in net inflows over the past week. This brings the year-to-date total to a robust $40.11 billion, while the one-year figure now stands at an impressive $58.97 billion.

This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards

Most municipal bond categories posted negative returns for the week as interest rates ticked higher. The Municipal – Short category proved most resilient, declining by a modest -0.14%, and it remains one of two categories in positive territory year-to-date. On the other end of the spectrum, Municipal – Long funds experienced the largest drop, falling -1.15% for the week.

Category Performance Snapshot

Category WTD 1 Month 3 Month 6 Month YTD 1 Year
Municipal – Short -0.14% 0.08% 0.14% 0.34% 1.11% 1.93%
Municipal – Single State -0.74% -1.21% -1.97% -1.73% -0.55% 2.88%
Municipal – Intermediate -0.80% -1.24% -2.06% -1.78% -0.59% 2.88%
Municipal – High Yield -0.94% -1.29% -1.94% -0.58% 0.65% 4.86%
Municipal – Long -1.15% -2.10% -3.32% -2.23% -0.92% 4.29%

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance

Individual fund performance was led by actively managed, ultra-short duration strategies. The X-Square Municipal Income ETF (ZTAX) was the week’s top performer with a gain of 0.13%. Conversely, the Invesco New York AMT-Free Municipal Bond ETF (PZT) registered the largest decline, falling -2.05% over the period.

Ticker Fund Name WTD Performance
Top Performers
ZTAX X-Square Municipal Income ETF 0.13%
AMUN Abrdn Ultra Short Muncipal Income Active ETF 0.07%
GUMI Goldman Sachs Ultra Short Municipal Income ETF 0.07%
PUSH PGIM Ultra Short Municipal Bond ETF -0.01%
JMST JPMorgan Ultra-Short Municipal Income ETF -0.03%
Bottom Performers
PZT Invesco New York AMT-Free Municipal Bond ETF -2.05%
YYYM Amplify Municipal CEF High Income ETF -1.86%
XMPT VanEck CEF Muni Income ETF -1.65%
RTAI Rareview Tax Advantaged Income ETF -1.62%
MLN VanEck Long Muni ETF -1.51%

Analyzing the Weekly Flows

Investor demand for municipal bond ETFs remained strong, with the channel attracting nearly $1.7 billion in net new assets. All five categories recorded positive inflows for the week, demonstrating broad-based interest. The Municipal – Intermediate category led the way, pulling in $786 million, while Municipal – High Yield funds saw the smallest, yet still positive, intake of $115 million.

Category Flows Summary

Category Fund Count AUM 5 Day 30 Day 90 Day YTD 1 Year
Municipal – Intermediate 57 $143.94B $786M $3,004M $8,255M $22,860M $34,655M
Municipal – Short 25 $34.93B $387M $1,288M $3,205M $5,967M $9,463M
Municipal – Long 9 $7.38B $252M $388M $582M $3,200M $3,589M
Municipal – Single State 29 $18.73B $139M $797M $2,354M $5,075M $6,454M
Municipal – High Yield 19 $17.39B $115M $505M $1,550M $3,003M $4,813M

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow

The Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF (VTEB) was the most popular fund, gathering $333 million in net new assets for the week. On the other side of the ledger, outflows were relatively muted across the channel. The Hartford Schroders Tax-Aware Bond ETF (HTAB) saw the largest redemption at -$46 million, followed by the State Street SPDR Nuveen ICE Municipal Bond ETF (TFI) with -$31 million in outflows.

Ticker Fund Name 5-Day Flow
Inflows
VTEB Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF $333M
MUB iShares National Muni Bond ETF $250M
LMUB iShares Long-Term National Muni Bond ETF $220M
VTES Vanguard Short-Term Tax Exempt Bond ETF $161M
CGMU Capital Group Municipal Income ETF $141M
Outflows
HTAB Hartford Schroders Tax-Aware Bond ETF -$46M
TFI State Street SPDR Nuveen ICE Municipal Bond ETF -$31M
JMUB JPMorgan Municipal ETF -$25M
HYD VanEck High Yield Muni ETF -$20M
ITM VanEck Intermediate Muni ETF -$14M

Issuer League Table Update

The issuer landscape remains concentrated, with iShares and Vanguard controlling 31.66% and 25.59% of the market share, respectively. Vanguard led all issuers in weekly asset gathering, attracting $737 million in net inflows. Meanwhile, Hartford experienced the largest net redemptions for the week, with outflows totaling -$46 million.

Top 5 Issuers by AUM

Brand Fund Count AUM AUM Market Share
iShares 10 $70.41B 31.66%
Vanguard 8 $56.90B 25.59%
JPMorgan 6 $17.67B 7.95%
Capital Group 3 $11.62B 5.22%
SPDR 4 $9.98B 4.49%

Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow

Brand 5-Day Flow
Inflows
Vanguard $737M
iShares $560M
Capital Group $181M
Outflows
Hartford -$46M
VanEck -$26M
Fidelity -$13M

For a deeper dive into these trends, access our FREE, in-depth Municipal ETF reports in the right side panel of this page.

Disclosures

This material is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. All investments, including ETFs, involve risk, including the possible loss of principal. Investors should consider their investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses carefully before investing.

This analysis was developed by the team at ETF Action. We leverage advanced AI tools to assist in the drafting and refinement of our content, based on our expert prompts, direction, and final review.