The U.S. municipal bond ETF market, comprised of 111 funds from 42 issuers with a total of $155 billion in assets, continued to attract investor capital this week, pulling in $437 million in net new assets. The week’s performance was led by high-yield and long-duration segments, with the Simplify National Muni Bond ETF (NMB) posting the strongest individual gain at 1.73%. This positive sentiment was reflected across most categories, with only the long-duration space seeing minor outflows.
Weekly Performance Recap: Longer Duration and Higher Risk Pay Off
Investors were rewarded for taking on both duration and credit risk this week. Long-duration municipal ETFs were the top-performing category with an average return of 1.33%, closely followed by high-yield munis at 1.14%. Short-duration funds, while positive, lagged significantly with a modest 0.23% return. This suggests a growing investor appetite for yield, even as it comes with increased sensitivity to interest rate changes and credit risk.
Category Performance:
| Category | WTD | 1M | 3M | YTD |
| Long | +1.33% | +1.44% | +1.98% | -1.52% |
| High Yield | +1.14% | +1.27% | +1.81% | +0.73% |
| Single State | +0.89% | +1.07% | +1.92% | +0.26% |
| Intermediate | +0.84% | +1.10% | +2.21% | +1.65% |
| Short | +0.23% | +0.52% | +1.72% | +3.14% |
Top & Bottom Individual ETF Returns (Week-to-Date):
| Ticker | Fund Name | WTD Return |
| Top 3 Performers | ||
| NMB | Simplify National Muni Bond ETF | +1.73% |
| HTAX | Macquarie National High-Yield Municipal Bond ETF | +1.50% |
| NHYM | Nuveen High Yield Municipal Income ETF | +1.49% |
| Bottom 3 Performers | ||
| PVI | Invesco Floating Rate Municipal Income ETF | +0.05% |
| FUMB | First Trust Ultra Short Duration Municipal ETF | +0.08% |
| JMST | JPMorgan Ultra-Short Municipal Income ETF | +0.10% |
Weekly Flows Summary: Intermediate and Short-Duration Funds Gather Most Assets
Despite the strong performance of longer-duration funds, investors continued to pour capital into the intermediate and short-duration segments of the municipal bond market. Intermediate funds led the way with $253 million in weekly inflows, followed by short-duration funds with $103 million. This indicates that while some investors are reaching for yield, a larger contingent remains cautious, preferring the relative safety of shorter-term municipal debt. The only category to experience outflows was the long-duration space, which saw a modest $12 million exit.
Category Flows (5-Day):
| Category | Fund Count | AUM | WTD Flow | 1M Flow | YTD Flow |
| Intermediate | 46 | $106.1B | +$253M | +$1,526M | +$10,320M |
| Short | 20 | $25.3B | +$103M | +$572M | +$5,145M |
| High Yield | 16 | $12.1B | +$57M | +$2,028M | +$1,911M |
| Single State | 19 | $7.9B | +$37M | +$170M | +$1,430M |
| Long | 7 | $3.9B | -$12M | +$108M | +$165M |
Largest Individual ETF Flows (5-Day):
| Ticker | Fund Name | Flow |
| Top 3 Inflows | ||
| MUB | iShares National Muni Bond ETF | +$83M |
| VTEB | Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF | +$72M |
| PWZ | Invesco California AMT-Free Municipal Bond ETF | +$57M |
| Top 3 Outflows | ||
| CMF | iShares California Muni Bond ETF | -$45M |
| TFI | SPDR Nuveen ICE Municipal Bond ETF | -$27M |
| PZA | Invesco National AMT-Free Municipal Bond ETF | -$17M |
Issuer and Product Landscape
The municipal ETF market is dominated by a few large players, with iShares and Vanguard controlling nearly 65% of the total assets. This week, Vanguard was the clear leader in asset gathering, pulling in $124 million in new money. On the flip side, SPDR saw the largest outflows at $27 million. The issuer landscape continues to expand, with 5 new municipal bond ETFs launched in the past three months, indicating growing interest and product development in this corner of the fixed income market.
Issuer Flow Leaders & Laggards (5-Day):
| Issuer | AUM | Market Share | WTD Flow | WTD Flow (% of AUM) |
| Top 3 Inflows | ||||
| Vanguard | $43.02B | 27.70% | +$124M | +0.29% |
| iShares | $57.03B | 36.72% | +$90M | +0.16% |
| Capital Group | $6.88B | 4.43% | +$40M | +0.59% |
| Top 3 Outflows | ||||
| SPDR | $9.32B | 6.00% | -$27M | -0.29% |
| Columbia | $0.47B | 0.31% | -$2M | -0.42% |
| T. Rowe Price | $0.08B | 0.05% | -$1M | -1.47% |
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.
