Weekly Channel Summary
The Municipal ETF channel continues to show robust growth, currently boasting a total of $183B in Assets Under Management (AUM) across 133 ETFs and 47 issuers. Investor demand remains strong as we close out the year, with the channel attracting $1.64B in net new money over the past week (5-Day). This recent activity contributes to an impressive Year-to-Date (YTD) flow total of $38.54B and a trailing 1-year flow figure of $39.03B, highlighting the consistent appeal of tax-exempt fixed income strategies in the current market environment.
This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards
Municipal performance was generally positive across all categories this week, led by the Intermediate and Long duration segments, which both returned 0.08%. On a Year-to-Date (YTD) basis, the Intermediate category continues to lead the channel with a total return of 4.56%. Conversely, the High Yield category was the week’s laggard, posting a marginal return of 0.01%, though it remains comfortably positive for the year with a 3.74% YTD return.
Category Performance Snapshot
| Category | WTD | 1 Month | 3 Month | 6 Month | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intermediate | 0.08% | 0.10% | 1.62% | 4.49% | 4.56% | 4.80% |
| Long | 0.08% | -0.10% | 1.88% | 5.61% | 2.32% | 2.75% |
| Single State | 0.06% | 0.01% | 1.57% | 4.41% | 3.18% | 3.49% |
| Short | 0.05% | 0.26% | 0.65% | 2.03% | 3.86% | 3.95% |
| High Yield | 0.01% | -0.09% | 1.43% | 4.49% | 3.74% | 4.14% |
Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance
On an individual fund basis, the OVM (Overlay Shares Municipal Bond ETF) led the channel this week with a 0.65% return. At the bottom of the performance rankings, the RTAI (Rareview Tax Advantaged Income ETF) and XMPT (VanEck CEF Muni Income ETF) struggled, posting weekly returns of -0.47% and -0.34%, respectively.
| Ticker | Fund Name | WTD Performance |
|---|---|---|
| Top Performers | ||
| OVM | Overlay Shares Municipal Bond ETF | 0.65% |
| NMB | Simplify National Muni Bond ETF | 0.64% |
| RMOP | Rockefeller Opportunistic Municipal Bond ETF | 0.12% |
| RMCA | Rockefeller California Municipal Bond ETF | 0.12% |
| HIMU | iShares High Yield Muni Active ETF | 0.12% |
| Bottom Performers | ||
| MUNX | AMG GW&K Muni Income ETF | 0.00% |
| GMNY | Goldman Sachs Dynamic New York Municipal Income ETF | 0.00% |
| ZTAX | X-Square Municipal Income ETF | -0.23% |
| XMPT | VanEck CEF Muni Income ETF | -0.34% |
| RTAI | Rareview Tax Advantaged Income ETF | -0.47% |
Analyzing the Weekly Flows
Total net flow for the channel reached $1.64B this week, with investors showing a clear preference for liquidity and core duration. The Intermediate category saw the most significant inflows, gathering $715M, bringing its total AUM to $121.1B. The Short category also saw substantial activity with $674M in new investment. While every major category remained in positive territory, the Long duration segment recorded the lowest net intake for the week at $16M.
Category Flows Summary
| Category | Fund Count | AUM | 5 Day | 30 Day | 90 Day | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intermediate | 52 | $121.1B | $715M | $2,553M | $8,484M | $21,015M | $21,203M |
| Short | 24 | $28.7B | $674M | $1,374M | $2,919M | $8,418M | $8,558M |
| Single State | 28 | $13.7B | $148M | $537M | $1,786M | $3,356M | $3,413M |
| High Yield | 18 | $14.7B | $82M | $529M | $1,362M | $4,883M | $4,897M |
| Long | 9 | $4.4B | $16M | $45M | $250M | $474M | $483M |
Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow
The JMST (JPMorgan Ultra-Short Municipal Income ETF) was the runaway winner for inflows this week, pulling in $502M. Conversely, the CAM (AB California Intermediate Municipal ETF) and FTMH (Franklin Municipal High Yield ETF) saw the largest net outflows, albeit at modest levels of -$6M and -$1M, respectively.
| Ticker | Fund Name | 5-Day Flow |
|---|---|---|
| Inflows | ||
| JMST | JPMorgan Ultra-Short Municipal Income ETF | $502M |
| VTEB | Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF | $234M |
| JMUB | JPMorgan Municipal ETF | $91M |
| SUB | iShares Short-Term National Muni Bond ETF | $90M |
| VTEC | Vanguard California Tax-Exempt Bond ETF | $77M |
| Outflows | ||
| CAM | AB California Intermediate Municipal ETF | -$6M |
| FTMH | Franklin Municipal High Yield ETF | -$1M |
| FTCA | Franklin California Municipal Income ETF | -$1M |
| FTMS | Franklin Short-Term Municipal Income ETF | $0M |
| FTMA | Franklin Massachusetts Municipal Income ETF | $0M |
Issuer League Table Update
iShares continues to lead the channel in market share at 33.49%, followed by Vanguard at 26.48%. Despite iShares’ dominant size, JPMorgan was the clear leader in gathering weekly inflows, adding $600M to its Municipal ETF lineup. Among the major issuers, First Trust saw the lowest relative activity with $5M in weekly inflows, contrasting with the much larger totals seen by the top three brands.
Top 5 Issuers by AUM
| Brand | Fund Count | AUM | AUM Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| iShares | 10 | $61.15B | 33.49% |
| Vanguard | 8 | $48.34B | 26.48% |
| JPMorgan | 4 | $13.37B | 7.32% |
| SPDR | 5 | $9.44B | 5.17% |
| Capital Group | 3 | $8.12B | 4.45% |
Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow
| Brand | 5-Day Flow |
|---|---|
| Inflows | |
| JPMorgan | $600M |
| Vanguard | $421M |
| iShares | $175M |
| Outflows | |
| Invesco | $23M |
| VanEck | $17M |
| First Trust | $5M |
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.
