Category Review
Municipal bond funds are down for the year after a third-quarter selloff erased the first-half gain
State Street SPDR Nuveen ICE Municipal Bond ETF
$43.05+0.28 (+0.65%)
- 0.23%
- $2.9B
- −2.9%
- 3.78%
- 0.8M sh
- $42.73
- low $42.34high $46.50
The ETF.net TFI Grade
A
Score 82 out of 100
- 5 of 63
Score 82 of 100 falls in the A 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.A77 out of 100Rank 15 of 63Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A100 out of 100Rank 1 of 59Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.C50 out of 100Rank 28 of 63Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.A86 out of 100Rank 4 of 63Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.A97 out of 100Rank 1 of 63Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A89 out of 100Rank 4 of 63
Our read on TFI
ALaunched in 2007, this is one of the elder statesmen of municipal bond ETFs: roughly 1,900 AMT-free bonds, income paid monthly, and a fee that sits under the category median.
The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the ICE 1+ Year AMT-Free Broad Municipal Index.
Why people hold it
- 0.23% expense ratio, below the 0.30% median for muni bond ETFs.
- About 1,900 bonds spread across the US muni market, so no single issuer or project carries much weight.
- Tracks the ICE 1+ Year AMT-Free Broad Municipal Index closely, and ranks among the stronger implementations in a crowded muni field.ssga.com
- Pays monthly, and the index screens out bonds subject to the alternative minimum tax.
Worth knowing
- Three-basis-point rivals like VTEB and SCMB cover broad munis for a fraction of the fee. Here you pay more for a track record dating to 2007.
- The index runs from one-year paper out to the long end, so share prices move with interest rates.
- Volume is moderate rather than heavy, so spreads can run wider than at the largest muni funds.
TFI Holdings
- Bonds
- 1,991
- 2%
- Us Dollar
Geography
- United States100.00%
TFI Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
TFI$9,707
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 | TFI |
|---|---|
| Year to date | −3.9% |
| 1 month | −2.0% |
| 3 months | −5.2% |
| 1 year | −2.9% |
| 3 years | +2.5% |
| 5 years | −0.9% |
| 10 years | +1.0% |
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 | TFI |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | −3.9% | |
| 2025 | +3.6% | |
| 2024 | 0.0% | |
| 2023 | +5.6% | |
| 2022 | −10.2% | |
| 2021 | +0.3% | |
| 2020 | +6.0% |
TFI in the news
TFI Dividends
- 3.78%
- $1.61
- $0.14 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
TFI Risk
- 6.2%
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.
- −0.29
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.
- −14.9%
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.
- 1.08
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
TFI Cost
0.23%
TFI0.23%
- The middle half of Other Municipal Bond funds
- Median 0.30%
14 of the 63 Other Municipal Bond funds charge less.
Other funds in Other Municipal Bond
- ASCMBSchwab Municipal Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.03%1 year return −2.5%
- AVCRMVanguard Core Tax-Exempt Bond EExpense ratio 0.12%1 year return −1.3%
- ACMFiShares California Muni Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.08%1 year return −2.3%
- ANYFiShares New York Muni Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.09%1 year return −2.3%
- ATAXTNorthern Trust Tax-Exempt Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.05%1 year return −0.7%