Category Review
Municipal bond funds are down for the year after a third-quarter selloff erased the first-half gain
Franklin New Jersey Municipal Income ETF
$8.30+0.05 (+0.61%)
- 0.36%
- $183M
- 0.1M sh
- $8.26
- low $8.17high $8.91
The ETF.net FTNJ Grade
B
Score 57 out of 100
- 30 of 63
Score 57 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.C41 out of 100Rank 33 of 63Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A84 out of 100Rank 39 of 59Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.B56 out of 100Rank 20 of 63Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.B55 out of 100Rank 27 of 63Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.C40 out of 100Rank 49 of 63Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.B66 out of 100Rank 24 of 63
Our read on FTNJ
BA New Jersey-only muni portfolio in an ETF wrapper: the mandate is current income exempt from both federal and New Jersey personal income tax, run off a Franklin strategy whose lineage goes back to 1990. Narrow by design, in a cohort ruled by national funds.
The fund seeks a high level of current income exempt from federal income tax and New Jersey personal income tax.
Why people hold it
- The cohort's biggest names are national portfolios or other single states. This one is built for New Jersey, targeting income exempt from federal and NJ personal income tax.
- Roughly 160 municipal bonds pointed at one clearly stated job: a high level of double tax-exempt current income for New Jersey taxpayers.
- The strategy's lineage runs back to 1990, so this is a long-tenured muni mandate in ETF clothing, not a ticker minted last week for a theme.
- It stays close to what the prospectus promises: a plain muni income portfolio with no leverage, no derivatives overlay, no structural surprises.
Worth knowing
- The 0.35% annual fee sits above the typical muni ETF's. Index giants like VTEB and MUB cost a fraction, though neither is New Jersey-specific.
- One state, about 160 bonds. Concentration is the price of the state tax break, so New Jersey budget and credit news lands harder here than in a national fund.
- A modest asset base and only moderate trading mean spreads can matter more than in the mega national muni funds, and payouts arrive on an irregular schedule.
FTNJ Holdings
- Bonds
- 173
- 24%
- PGLXX
FTNJ Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
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FTNJ$9,687
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 | FTNJ |
|---|---|
| Year to date | −3.1% |
| 1 month | −2.1% |
| 3 months | −5.2% |
| 1 year | — |
| 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 | FTNJ |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | −3.1% | |
| 2025 | +0.3% |
FTNJ in the news
FTNJ Dividends
- $0.03 per share
- Monthly
Distribution data unavailable.
Distribution history
FTNJ Risk
- —
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.
- —
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.
- —
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.
- 0.96
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
FTNJ Cost
0.36%
FTNJ0.36%
- The middle half of Other Municipal Bond funds
- Median 0.30%
37 of the 63 Other Municipal Bond funds charge less.
Other funds in Other Municipal Bond
- BFLMBFranklin Municipal Green Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.30%1 year return −4.0%
- BGCALGoldman Sachs Dynamic California Municipal Income ETFExpense ratio 0.35%1 year return −1.0%
- BGMNYGoldman Sachs Dynamic New York Municipal Income ETFExpense ratio 0.35%1 year return −0.9%
- BMINOPIMCO Municipal Income Opportunities Active Exchange-Traded FundExpense ratio 0.49%1 year return −2.2%
- BWTMUWisdomTree Core Laddered Municipal FundExpense ratio 0.25%1 year return −2.1%