Best Municipal Bond Mutual Funds September 2011

This next article is about Top 10 Best Municipal Bond Mutual Funds for the past 3 years. The funds include Wells Fargo Advantage Core Builder, Ivy Municipal High Income I, Nuveen Tax-Free I, Virtus Tax-Exempt Bond I, etc. I also include the individual mutual fund review.

On my previous article, I have provided the Top Performing Muni Bond Mutual Funds. As discussed before, municipal bond funds provide dividend yield exempt from the federal tax rate. These muni bond funds can provide instant diversification to variety of municipal bonds in one fund. In this list, you will find such as national muni bond fund, single state muni bond fund, California muni bond fund, etc. Some of these funds may be categorized as long term muni bond, intermediate term muni bond, or short term muni bond.

Note: More top mutual funds on my MEPB Financial website

Selection criteria

The best Muni Bond fund’s selection criteria are:

• Consistent performance for the past 3 years and over the long term period.
• The fund is recognized by Morningstar as one of the best funds with 4 stars or 5 stars rating.
• It has one of the top fund’s managers in this category.

Top Rated Funds

Best municipal bond mutual funds for 2013 & 2014 are:

1. Bernstein Diversified Municipal fund (SNDPX)
2. USAA Tax Exempt Intermediate-Term fund (USATX)
3. Wells Fargo Advantage Short Term Municipal Bond fund (STSMX)
4. Vanguard High-Yield Tax-Exempt fund (VWAHX)
5. T. Rowe Price Summit Municipal Income fund (PRINX)
6. Wells Fargo Advantage Municipal Bond fund (SXFIX)
7. Wells Fargo Advantage Intermediate Tax/AMT-Free fund (SIMBX)
8. SEI Tax-Exempt Tax-Advantaged Income fund (SEATX)
9. GuideMark Tax-Exempt Fixed Income fund (GMTEX)
10. BNY Mellon Municipal Opportunities fund (MOTIX)
11. American Funds Tax-Exempt Bond fund (AFTEX)
12. Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt fund (VWITX)

updated on 3/31/2013

Virtus International Real Estate Securities A PXRAX Fund

Real Estate investment is important part of asset diversification. One of the easiest way to invest in Real Estate is investing in REIT Mutual Fund. I provide Virtus International Real Estate Securities fund review. This global real estate fund has performed consistently for the past 3 years. It is among the top international real estate fund. If you are interested in other top fund, please check my MEPB Financial website.

Virtus International Real Estate Securities A (MUTF: PXRAX)

The Virtus International Real Estate Securities fund investment objective is to achieve long-term capital appreciation; income is a secondary consideration. This Virtus fund invests >80% of assets in equity securities issued by non-U.S companies of any capitalization that are engaged in the real estate industry, including common stock, preferred stock and other equity securities. These real estate companies include real estate investment trusts (REITs), and similar REIT-like entities. It invests <20% of assets in U.S. REIT securities. This fund is considered a non-diversified fund.

PXRAX Fund Details

Virtus International Real Estate Secs

• Fund Inception Date: October 1, 2007
• Ticker Symbol: PXRAX (Class A)
• CUSIP: 92828R750
• Beta (3yr): 1.04
• Rank in category (YTD): 5
• Category: Global Real Estate
• Dividend Yield: 10.68%
• Net Assets: $ 39.72 million
• Sales Load: 5.75%
• Expense Ratio: 1.50%
• Capital Gains: N/A
• Number of Years Up: 2 years
• Number of Years Down: 1 year

Updated on 9/7/2011

Ivy Municipal High Income A (IYIAX) Fund

Bond funds or fixed income funds are another less volatile investment vehicle for investor to diversify its investment portfolio. There are two main fixed income mutual funds: taxable bond funds and non taxable bond funds (Municipal Bond funds). This article will provide one of the top municipal bond mutual funds. This muni bond fund can provide regular dividend or income for investor. It is also an efficient way for high income investor to diversify its portfolio.

Ivy Municipal High Income A (MUTF: IYIAX)

The Ivy Municipal High Income fund’s objective is to seek a high level of current income that is exempt from federal income tax. This Muni bond fund invests most of net assets (>80%) in a diversified portfolio of tax-exempt municipal bonds. It invests in bonds rated in the lower tier of investment grade or lower, including bonds rated below investment grade, or junk bonds. The fund typically invests in municipal bonds with remaining maturities of 10 to 30 years. It also invests in investment grade municipal bonds at times when yield spreads are narrow and the higher yields do not justify the increased risk.

IYIAX Fund Details

Ivy Municipal High Income fund details

• Fund Inception Date: May 18, 2009
• Ticker Symbol: IYIAX (Class A)
• CUSIP: 466001849
• Beta (3yr): 1.24
• Rank in category (YTD): 45
• Category: High Yield Muni
• Distribution Rate: 4.69%
• Net Assets: $ 498.32 million
• Sales Load: 4.25%
• Expense Ratio: 0.94%
• Capital Gains: N/A
• Number of Years Up: 1 year
• Number of Years Down: 0 years
• Average Maturity: 22.08 years
• Average Duration: 10.17 years

Updated on 9/16/2011

TD Bank USA Online Banking Review

One of the leading banks in Northeast and Southeast America is TD Bank. TD Bank has expanded its business. As part of TD Bank Financial Group, TD Bank USA offers online banking and variety banking services review. More details on online banking is described below.

Intro

TD Bank is American bank subsidiary division of TD Bank Financial Group (NYSE: TD, TSX:TD, TYO: 8640) which provides financial services to US personal and commercial banking. As the 10 largest banks in US, TD Bank provides a full range of financial products such as banking, insurance, brokerage, and investment banking. It has >1,250 convenient local branches from Maine to Florida. TD Bank also has more than 2,700 ATM machines.


TD Bank was formed with merger of TD Banknorth and Commerce Bank in 2008. The current TD Bank USA CEO is Bharat B. Masrani. The current TD Bank (USA) headquarters are located at Cherry Hill, New Jersey and Portland, MaineUSA. TD Bank tag line is “America's Most Convenient Bank.”

Note: If you are interesting in TDBFG Canadian subsidiary, please check my article on hubpages

Wells Fargo Advantage Premier Large Company Growth A EKJAX Fund

Having several domestic stock mutual funds in your investment account may be the right choice for portfolio diversification. Depending on your risk tolerance and market volatility, you should invest about 20% - 50% of your total asset portfolio in these domestic stock funds especially large cap domestic stock funds. One of this best domestic fund is listed below. For more top rated fund review, please check MEPB Financial.

Wells Fargo Advantage Premier Large Company Growth A (MUTF: EKJAX)

The Wells Fargo Advantage Premier Large Company Growth fund’s objective is to provide long-term capital growth. This Wells Fargo Advantage fund invests >80% of net assets in equity securities of large-capitalization companies and <20% of the total assets in equity securities of foreign issuers, including ADRs. It invests principally in equity securities of large-capitalization companies similar to companies in Russell 1000 Index. This Large Growth Domestic Stock fund may use futures, options or swap agreements, derivatives, to manage risk or to enhance return. Details of the fund review is below.

EKJAX Fund Details

Wells Fargo Advantage Premier Large  Company Growth

• Fund Inception Date: January 20, 1998
• Ticker Symbol: EKJAX
• CUSIP: 94984B496
• Beta (3yr): 0.91
• Rank in category (YTD): 17
• Category: Large Growth
• Distribution: 0.05%
• Net Assets: $ 830.12 million
• Sales Load: 5.75%
• Expense Ratio: 1.08%
• Capital Gains: N/A
• Number of Years Up: 8 years
• Number of Years Down: 4 years

Updated on 9/17/2011

Managers Short Duration Government Fund (MGSDX)

As part of fixed income fund or taxable bond fund, ultra-short bond fund can be used for any short term investment or asset diversification. It can also use to hedge against rising interest rate environment. One of this best rated ultrashort taxable bond fund is Managers Short Duration Government. More Best funds are available on MEPB Financial.

Managers Short Duration Government (MUTF: MGSDX)

According the fund’s prospectus, the Managers Short Duration Government fund seeks current income consistent with low volatility of net asset value (NAV). This Managers fund invests most of net assets (>80%) in US Government bonds (debt securities). It may use synthetic instruments or derivatives similar to the bonds or debt securities. It also may employs hedging techniques, such as interest rate futures, options, caps, floors, and swaps, to reduce the interest rate risk of its fixed income securities. This Ultrashort Bond fund may use leverage.

MGSDX Fund Details

Managers Short Duration Government fund

• Fund Inception Date: March 31, 1992
• Ticker Symbol: MGSDX
• CUSIP: 561717794
• Beta (3yr): -0.08
• Rank in category (YTD): 44
• Category: Ultrashort Bond
• Distribution Rate: 1.06%
• Net Assets: $ 341.79 million
• Sales Load: 0%
• Expense Ratio: 0.81%
• Capital Gains: N/A
• Number of Years Up: 17 years
• Number of Years Down: 1 year
• Effective Duration: 0.3 years

Updated on 9/14/2011

Templeton China World Fund (TCWAX)

As one of emerging markets, China can provide an opportunity for investor to invest. To invest in Chinese companies, investor can invest through mutual funds. One of the best China Region stock fund is Templeton China World fund. The fund review is described below.

Templeton China World A (MUTF: TCWAX)

The Templeton China World fund seeks long-term capital appreciation. The fund typically invests most of net assets (>80%) in securities of China companies. This Franklin Templeton fund may also invest <20% of net assets in securities that do not qualify as China company securities, but whose issuers, in the judgment of the investment manager, are expected to benefit from developments in the economy of China. This Templeton fund is non-diversified.

TCWAX Fund Details

Templeton China World fund details

• Fund Inception Date: September 8, 1993
• Ticker Symbol: TCWAX
• CUSIP: 88018X201
• Beta (3yr): 0.86
• Rank in category (YTD): 5
• Category: China Region
• Distribution: 0.86%
• Net Assets: $ 1.21 billion
• Sales Load: 5.75%
• Expense Ratio: 2.02%
• Capital Gains: N/A
• Number of Years Up: 11 years
• Number of Years Down: 6 years

Updated on 9/14/2011