Category Review
Municipal bond funds are down for the year after a third-quarter selloff erased the first-half gain
VanEck CEF Muni Income ETF
$19.23+0.07 (+0.37%)
- 3.40%
- $197M
- −7.3%
- 6.66%
- 0.1M sh
- $19.12
- low $18.80high $22.66
The ETF.net XMPT Grade
D
Score 32 out of 100
- 59 of 63
Score 32 of 100 falls in the D 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.F2 out of 100Rank 62 of 63Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.C47 out of 100Rank 57 of 59Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.D39 out of 100Rank 52 of 63Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.B59 out of 100Rank 22 of 63Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.F24 out of 100Rank 60 of 63Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.B62 out of 100Rank 27 of 63
Our read on XMPT
DOne ticker for the muni closed-end fund market: roughly 40 CEFs, many of them leveraged, weighted toward the ones trading at the widest discounts to their own asset value. VanEck has run it this way since 2011.
XMPT seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of an index representing U.S.-listed closed-end funds investing in U.S.-dollar-denominated, tax-exempt markets.
Why people hold it
- The index leans toward cheap: weights start from each fund's net assets, then adjust for its average discount over the prior 90 days, tilting toward deeper-discounted CEFs.vaneck.com
- One trade instead of tracking dozens of muni closed-end funds and their individual discounts: roughly 40 of them, with income paid monthly.
- Running since 2011, it is the long-standing ETF wrapper for a corner of the muni market that otherwise means researching closed-end funds one at a time.vaneck.com
Worth knowing
- All-in cost is 1.97% against a muni-ETF median near 0.30%. Most of that is the underlying CEFs' own fees and borrowing costs; VanEck's management fee is 0.40%.sec.govvaneck.com
- Many underlying funds borrow, which amplifies muni price moves, and CEF discounts widen as well as narrow. Swings run larger than a plain index tracker such as VTEB or MUB.vaneck.com
- Small and thinly traded, so spreads can run wider than on the giant muni trackers.
XMPT Holdings
- Other
- 36
- 59%
- NEA
Geography
- United States100.00%
XMPT Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
XMPT$9,266
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 | XMPT |
|---|---|
| Year to date | −8.6% |
| 1 month | −6.5% |
| 3 months | −12.0% |
| 1 year | −7.3% |
| 3 years | +6.1% |
| 5 years | −3.3% |
| 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 | XMPT |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | −8.6% | |
| 2025 | +8.0% | |
| 2024 | +7.0% | |
| 2023 | +2.5% | |
| 2022 | −24.0% | |
| 2021 | +7.9% | |
| 2020 | +7.7% |
XMPT in the news
XMPT Dividends
- 6.66%
- $1.27
- $0.11 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
XMPT Risk
- 12.6%
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.
- 0.19
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.
- −34.5%
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.
- 2.05
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
XMPT Cost
3.40%
XMPT3.40%
- The middle half of Other Municipal Bond funds
- Median 0.30%
61 of the 63 Other Municipal Bond funds charge less.
Other funds in Other Municipal Bond
- DJCALJPMorgan California Tax Free Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.44%1 year return —
- DJTNYJPMorgan New York Tax Free Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.43%1 year return —
- DNMBSimplify National Muni Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.52%1 year return −5.0%
- DFECMFirst Eagle Core Municipal ETFExpense ratio 0.40%1 year return —
- FRTAIRareview Tax Advantaged Income ETFExpense ratio 5.24%1 year return −8.2%