Weekly Channel Summary
The FI: Municipal ETF channel currently oversees a total Assets Under Management (AUM) of $204B across 137 ETFs, managed by 48 distinct issuers. Despite a slightly challenging week for municipal bonds from a performance standpoint, the channel continues to attract strong capital. Over the past 5 days, the category gathered $986M in net new assets. This steady growth brings Year-to-Date (YTD) flows to an impressive $16.14B, while the 1-Year flow total stands at a robust $48.07B, underscoring persistent demand for tax-exempt fixed-income strategies.
This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards
The municipal bond space experienced modest pullbacks this week, with all major categories posting negative Week-to-Date (WTD) returns. The Short duration category was the most resilient, falling just -0.08%, while the Long duration category was the primary laggard, dropping -0.31%. Despite the weekly dip, all categories remain in positive territory for the Year-to-Date (YTD) period, led by the High Yield segment at 1.60%.
Category Performance Snapshot
| Category | WTD | 1 Month | 3 Month | 6 Month | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short | -0.08% | 0.26% | 0.16% | 1.30% | 0.74% | 3.82% |
| High Yield | -0.17% | 1.15% | 0.65% | 1.98% | 1.60% | 6.56% |
| Intermediate | -0.24% | 0.78% | 0.13% | 1.37% | 0.92% | 6.09% |
| Single State | -0.25% | 0.86% | 0.37% | 1.41% | 1.04% | 5.67% |
| Long | -0.31% | 1.04% | 0.78% | 1.50% | 1.34% | 6.29% |
Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance
Looking at individual funds, the best-performing ETF for the week was the F/m Ultrashort Tax-Free Municipal ETF (ZMUN), which managed to notch a 0.06% gain amid broader declines. On the other end of the spectrum, the Rareview Tax Advantaged Income ETF (RTAI) and the Hartford Schroders Tax-Aware Bond ETF (HTAB) were the most notable laggards, returning -0.56% and -0.41%, respectively.
| Ticker | Fund Name | WTD Performance |
|---|---|---|
| Top Performers | ||
| ZMUN | F/m Ultrashort Tax-Free Municipal ETF | 0.06% |
| XMPT | VanEck CEF Muni Income ETF | 0.06% |
| PVI | Invesco Floating Rate Municipal Income ETF | 0.06% |
| AMUN | Abrdn Ultra Short Muncipal Income Active ETF | 0.06% |
| SHYM | iShares Short Duration High Yield Muni Active ETF | 0.01% |
| Bottom Performers | ||
| RTAI | Rareview Tax Advantaged Income ETF | -0.56% |
| HTAB | Hartford Schroders Tax-Aware Bond ETF | -0.41% |
| NMB | Simplify National Muni Bond ETF | -0.41% |
| BAB | Invesco Taxable Municipal Bond ETF | -0.40% |
| LMUB | iShares Long-Term National Muni Bond ETF | -0.40% |
Analyzing the Weekly Flows
Investors added a net $986M to the FI: Municipal channel this week. The Intermediate duration category was the clear favorite, absorbing $843M in inflows, which brings its total category AUM to $163.6B. The Short duration category also saw healthy interest with $94M in new capital. While the major duration categories broadly saw net inflows, certain specialized segments or specific active funds naturally experienced outflows as investors rotated their tax-exempt positioning.
Category Flows Summary
| Category | Fund Count | AUM | 5 Day | 30 Day | 90 Day | YTD | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intermediate | 100 | $163.6B | $843M | $3,438M | $6,488M | $11,671M | $36,149M |
| Short | 27 | $32.3B | $94M | $193M | $1,610M | $2,086M | $8,900M |
| Long | 10 | $7.9B | $48M | $272M | $2,198M | $2,383M | $3,022M |
Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow
The Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF (VTEB) led all individual funds in asset gathering with a robust $219M in inflows over the past 5 days. Conversely, the First Trust Ultra Short Duration Municipal ETF (FUMB) and the NYLI MacKay Muni Insured ETF (MMIN) saw the largest absolute outflows, shedding $12M and $10M, respectively.
| Ticker | Fund Name | 5-Day Flow |
|---|---|---|
| Inflows | ||
| VTEB | Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF | $219M |
| MUB | iShares National Muni Bond ETF | $107M |
| JMUB | JPMorgan Municipal ETF | $71M |
| FLMI | Franklin Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF | $40M |
| VTEC | Vanguard California Tax-Exempt Bond ETF | $37M |
| Outflows | ||
| FUMB | First Trust Ultra Short Duration Municipal ETF | -$12M |
| MMIN | NYLI MacKay Muni Insured ETF | -$10M |
| JMST | JPMorgan Ultra-Short Municipal Income ETF | -$5M |
| FCAL | First Trust California Municipal High Income ETF | -$5M |
| FLMB | Franklin Municipal Green Bond ETF | -$4M |
Issuer League Table Update
iShares and Vanguard continue to dominate the FI: Municipal issuer landscape, holding 32.72% and 25.09% of the channel’s AUM, respectively. Vanguard led the pack in recent asset gathering, capturing $302M in weekly inflows across its product suite. On the downside, First Trust experienced the heaviest outflows among top issuers, losing $7M over the past five days.
Top 5 Issuers by AUM
| Brand | Fund Count | AUM | AUM Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| iShares | 10 | $66.68B | 32.72% |
| Vanguard | 8 | $51.13B | 25.09% |
| JPMorgan | 4 | $14.32B | 7.03% |
| Capital Group | 3 | $9.86B | 4.84% |
| SPDR | 5 | $9.47B | 4.65% |
Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow
| Brand | 5-Day Flow |
|---|---|
| Inflows | |
| Vanguard | $302M |
| iShares | $222M |
| JPMorgan | $70M |
| Outflows | |
| First Trust | -$7M |
| New York Life Investments | -$5M |
| BNY Mellon | -$1M |
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.
