Best Municipal Bond Mutual Funds for 2013 and 2014 Investing

Find best municipal bond mutual funds for 2013 & 2014 investing. Check the top rated muni bond mutual fund for financial review in brokerage or retirement account. This best municipal bond mutual fund provides tax free income.

Popular Municipal Bond Mutual Funds

Municipal bond mutual fund is part of fixed income mutual fund. This muni bond fund utilizes its assets to purchase high quality municipal bonds offered by states in U.S. The interest from this fund is tax free from federal income tax rate. It may be exempted from state or local tax as well. The total returns from this fund may be higher than other taxable bond fund, depending on your tax bracket.

These best municipal bond mutual funds for 2013 are selected based on its performance history and potential future performance. Some of these best muni bond funds don’t have a sales load and transaction fee. Some funds do have a sales load. The funds are ranked with 4 star rating or higher by Morningstar. You may find the fund review below and other fund information.

Best Muni Bond Mutual 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
9. GuideMark Tax-Exempt Fixed Income fund
10. BNY Mellon Municipal Opportunities fund
11. American Funds Tax-Exempt Bond fund
12. Vanguard Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt fund

Updated on 4/5/2013

PIMCO Real Return Fund (PRTNX)

PIMCO Real Return Fund (PRTNX) is another inflation protected bond mutual fund. It is managed by Mihir Korah. It provides yield of 2.27%.

PIMCO Real Return Fund (MUTF: PRTNX)

The investment aim of PIMCO Real Return Fund is to seek maximum real return, with capital preservation and prudent investment management. The mutual fund invests >80% of its net assets in inflation-indexed bonds of varying maturities issued by the U.S. and non-U.S. governments, and corporations. It may use forwards or derivatives such as options, futures contracts or swap agreements. It invests primarily in investment grade securities, but may invest up to 10% of its total assets in high yield securities (i.e. junk bonds) rated B or higher. The fund is non-diversified.

Fund Details

PIMCO Fund holdings

• Fund Inception Date: Jan 28, 1997
• Ticker Symbol: PRTNX
• CUSIP: 693391120
• Beta (3yr): 1.20
• Rank in category (YTD): 35%
• Category: Inflation-Protected Bond
• Distribution Rate: 2.27%
• Capital Gains: 0%
• Expense Ratio: 0.85%
• Net Assets: $ 25.3 billion
• Number of Years Up: 13 years
• Number of Years Down: 2 years
• Average Duration: 6.25 years
• Average Maturity: 9.45 years
• Annual Turnover Rate: 129.00%

Updated on 4/3/2013

Best Legg Mason Mutual Funds for 2013

Best Legg Mason mutual funds for 2013; top stock and bond fund by Legg Mason Investment. The 12 best mutual funds for 2013 are Legg Mason Investment Counsel Financial Services fund, Western Asset Managed Municipals, ClearBridge Appreciation, etc.

Legg Mason Funds

Top Mutual Funds

With over $650 billion under management, Legg Mason is another popular asset management firm. It uses multi-affiliate business model to provide diverse financials services to investors around the world. It offers products such as mutual funds, money market, SMA, closed end funds, variable investment, 529, and retirement.

Legg Mason Inc offers mutual funds through its principal affiliates. Some of principal affiliates are Legg Mason Capital Management, Western Asset Management, Batterymarch Financial Management Inc, Brandywine Global, Global Currents Investment Management, the Permal Group, Royce & Associates, and ClearBridge Investments.

Legg Mason Capital Management also has a famous fund manager, Bill Miller. Miller became famous for beating the S&P 500 for 15 straight years through 2005. But his Legg Mason Capital Management Value Trust fund began faltering in 2006. He left the fund last April 2011.

These best mutual funds are sorted based on its performance and quality. I have provided a review of my favorite funds. You can find various funds to invest in as well.  Please check the fund prospectus for investment risk, fund details, etc.

The 12 best Legg Mason mutual funds for 2013 are:

1. Legg Mason Investment Counsel Financial Services Fund
2. Western Asset Managed Municipals Fund
3. ClearBridge Appreciation Fund
4. Western Asset Intermediate-Term Municipal Fund
5. Western Asset Municipal High Income Fund
6. ClearBridge Small Cap Growth Fund
7. Western Asset Mortgage Backed Securities Fund
8. Legg Mason BW Global Opportunities Bond Fund
9. Western Asset Core Plus Bond Fund
10. ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund

Franklin US Government Securities Fund (FKUSX)

Franklin US Government Securities Fund is a taxable bond mutual fund. It invests mainly in U.S. government securities, especially GNMA debts.

Franklin US Government Securities Fund (FKUSX)

The investment objective of Franklin US Government Securities Fund is to provide income to investors. The fund utilizes its assets to purchase U.S. government securities. It invests primarily in Government National Mortgage Association obligations, known as Ginnie Maes. The mortgage loans may have either fixed or adjustable interest rates. The current shares price is $6.75.

Fund Profile

• Fund Inception Date: May 29, 1970
• Ticker Symbol: FKUSX
• CUSIP: 353 496 607
• Beta (3yr): 0.60
• Rank in category (YTD): 32%
• Category: Intermediate Government
• Distribution: 3.59%
• Capital Gains: 0%
• Expense Ratio: 0.73%
• Net Assets: $ 10.9 billion
• Number of Years Up: 39 years
• Number of Years Down: 3 years
• Average Duration:  3.13 years
• Average Maturity:  4.39 years
• Annual Turnover Rate: 40%

Updated on 3/30/2013

Top Performing Target Date 2011-2015 Mutual Funds March 2013

The top performing target date 2011-2015 mutual funds March 2013 are T. Rowe Price Retirement 2015, Americans Funds Target Date Retirement 2015 Fund, etc.

Top Performer Funds

Best Performing Target Date 2011-2015 Mutual Funds 2013

Target date 2011 2015 mutual funds invest mainly in diversified portfolio of stocks, bonds, and cash or money market fund. The portfolio is adjusted based on the retirement or another goal. It will adjust risk and return based on its target date, 2011-2015. People who retire around this target date should choose this balanced fund. Over time, the fund manager(s) will add more conservative assets such as cash or bonds.

From this best performing funds list, you may find each individual fund review. You can find the fund performance, expense ratio, and yield or dividend from the table below. The list is sorted based on its 1 year total return up to March 1, 2013.

The top performing target date 2011-2015 mutual funds March 2013 are:

1. T. Rowe Price Retirement 2015 (TRRGX)
2. JHancock2 Retire Living through 2015 A (JLBAX)
3. American Funds Target Date Ret 2015 A (AABTX)
4. MassMutual RetireSMART 2015 A (MMJAX)
5. Vanguard Target Retirement 2015 Investor (VTXVX)
6. JPMorgan SmartRetirement 2015 A (JSFAX)
7. Harbor Target Retirement 2015 Investor (HARIX)
8. Schwab Target 2015 (SWGRX)
9. Nationwide Destination 2015 A (NWEAX)
10. American Century LIVESTRONG 2015 Investor (ARFIX)
11. BlackRock LifePath Active 2015 Investor A (BAPBX)
12. Vantagepoint Milestone 2015 Investor M (VPRPX)

Updated on 3/1/2013

PIMCO Long-Term US Government Fund (PFGAX)

PIMCO Long-Term US Government Fund focuses its investment in U.S. government bonds. It currently has a yield of 2.25%. You can find the fund review in this post.

PIMCO Long-Term US Government Fund (PFGAX)

The investment aim of PIMCO Long-Term US Government Fund is to seek maximum total return, consistent with capital preservation and prudent investment management. The mutual fund utilizes its assets to invest in a diversified portfolio of bonds or debts issued by U.S. government, its agencies or government-sponsored enterprises. It may use options, futures contracts or swap agreements or mortgage- or asset-backed securities.

Fund Details

• Fund Inception Date: January 19, 1997
• Ticker Symbol: PFGAX
• CUSIP: 693391187
• Beta (3yr): 3.81
• Rank in category (YTD): 39%
• Category: Long Government
• Distribution Rate: 2.25%
• Capital Gains: 0%
• Expense Ratio: 0.82%
• Net Assets: $ 1.8 billion
• Number of Years Up: 13 years
• Number of Years Down: 2 years
• Effective Duration: 16.46 years
• Effective Maturity: 22.78 years
• Annual Turnover Rate: 426%

updated on 3/23/2013

Best JPMorgan Mutual Funds for 2013

Find the 22 best JPMorgan mutual funds for 2013. The top funds are JPMorgan Small Cap Equity Fund, JPMorgan Mid Cap Value Fund, JPMorgan Large Cap Growth, etc.

Best JPMorgan Mutual Funds

Top JPMorgan Mutual Funds

JPMorgan is one of the top world financial management companies with $1.3 trillion worth of assets under management. The company is the top 5 largest mutual fund firm in the U.S. It has over than 110 mutual funds under its JPMorgan fund family. JP Morgan also offers retirement account, managed wealth management, institutional products, private banking, treasury & securities services, etc.

As part of JPMorgan Chase & Co, it offers wide selections of investment choices, especially mutual funds. These best JPMorgan mutual funds for 2013 are selected based on its performance history. These JP Morgan funds do have a sales load. The funds are ranked with 3 star rating or higher by Morningstar. You may find the fund review below and other fund information. I also have selected my favorite funds below.

The 22 best JPMorgan mutual funds for 2013 are:

1. JPMorgan Small Cap Equity Fund
2. JPMorgan Mid Cap Value Fund
3. JPMorgan Large Cap Growth Fund
4. JPMorgan Income Builder Fund
5. JPMorgan Equity Income Fund
6. JPMorgan Value Advantage Fund
7. JPMorgan Growth Advantage Fund
8. JPMorgan Tax Aware High Income Fund
9. JPMorgan Latin America Fund
10. JPMorgan Core Bond Fund