Category Review
Municipal bond funds are down for the year after a third-quarter selloff erased the first-half gain
American Century California Municipal Bond ETF
$47.61+0.28 (+0.59%)
- 0.25%
- $142M
- −1.7%
- 3.70%
- 0M sh
- $47.21
- low $46.75high $51.09
The ETF.net CATF Grade
B
Score 66 out of 100
- 21 of 63
Score 66 of 100 falls in the B band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.
Cost
The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.A71 out of 100Rank 17 of 63Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A92 out of 100Rank 25 of 59Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.B62 out of 100Rank 9 of 63Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.D34 out of 100Rank 46 of 63Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.B58 out of 100Rank 30 of 63Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.C44 out of 100Rank 42 of 63
Our read on CATF
BCATF goes after muni income that skips both federal and California income tax, built from roughly 300 bonds chosen through credit and duration research. Fee: 0.27% a year.
The fund seeks high current income exempt from federal and California income taxes. It primarily invests in investment-grade bonds exempt from those taxes, using top-down credit and duration analysis plus research-driven security selection.
Why people hold it
- The double exemption is the whole point: the fund seeks income free of federal and California income taxes, which only works with a single-state portfolio.
- At 0.27% a year it sits under the median fee for muni bond ETFs, so less of that tax-free coupon leaks out to costs.
- Stated policy is monthly income, spread across about 300 investment-grade holdings and measured against the S&P California AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index.
- It stays on its stated mandate, investment-grade California munis with no style drift, and lands in the upper half of the muni ETF group.
Worth knowing
- Thinly traded and young (launched July 2024), so bid-ask spreads tend to run wider than on the big national muni funds.
- One state, one tax code. California credit conditions and bond supply drive results here in a way a national fund like MUB or VTEB spreads around.
- The state-tax break is worth nothing outside California, and broad national munis such as VTEB and SCMB charge 0.03%.
CATF Holdings
- Bonds
- 384
- 14%
- BlackRock Cash Sweep BlackRock Liq Fd Municash In
Geography
- United States100.00%
CATF Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
Not enough history yet.Not enough history yet.Not enough history yet.
CATF$9,831
Returns run to the Oct 12, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
| Period | CATF |
|---|---|
| Year to date | −2.7% |
| 1 month | −1.9% |
| 3 months | −4.6% |
| 1 year | −1.7% |
| 3 years | — |
| 5 years | — |
| 10 years | — |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | CATF |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | −2.7% | |
| 2025 | +3.8% | |
| 2024 | +1.1% |
CATF in the news
CATF Dividends
- 3.70%
- $1.75
- $0.11 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
CATF Risk
- 5.0%
How it’s calculated: standard deviation
The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.
- −0.73
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio
Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.
Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.
- −6.3%
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown
The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.
Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.
- 0.19
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
CATF Cost
0.25%
CATF0.25%
- The middle half of Other Municipal Bond funds
- Median 0.30%
16 of the 63 Other Municipal Bond funds charge less.
Other funds in Other Municipal Bond
- BDFCADimensional - California Municipal Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.19%1 year return −1.6%
- BFMBFirst Trust Managed Municipal ETFExpense ratio 0.39%1 year return −2.2%
- BPWZInvesco California AMT-Free Municipal Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.28%1 year return −3.7%
- BPMIOPGIM Municipal Income Opportunities ETFExpense ratio 0.25%1 year return −0.6%
- BFTMUFranklin Municipal Income ETFExpense ratio 0.30%1 year return —