How to select a municipal bond fund of the maze of available funds without the tax there? I try to limit my search to one or perhaps several bond funds in tax-free to add to my portfolio. I tend to like the variety of closed type. I checked the Blackrock fund offerings, Nuveen, Putnam, Morgan Stanley, Eaton Vance, et al. Man, there are a variety of funds that perplexed to choose from! Many of them look like clones of each other, with only slight differences in the name of the fund.
What would be some filtering criteria that I should apply to the selection of a fund for the tax free? NAV premium / discount, dividend history (increase or decrease - how to find it?), what happens to the funds if the Fed lowers Muni - or raises - interest rates, etc. In fact, I'm almost ready to provide and use a dartboard to select a fund! Any professional help would be appreciated. (I do not need a special public fund is that my state does not have an income tax of the state.)
since all bond funds to purchase the [essentially] the same group of questions, I compare critical operating expenses. Incidentally, I look at their performance in the long term - at least 5 years and turn over rate. Return may be a case of taxation substantially higher for you, even if overall performance is poor.
There are ETFs and other closed funds are dividends that could provide leads as high as the back-Equipped Wisdom Tree and First Trust come to mind, I could watch RNE, PEO, USA, ASG, IFN, the FIA or MIC for growth and a very nice dividend to boot ... [Personally, what are some of my favorites, and have replaced most of my funds Muni]
insofar as "safe and reliable" as a fund Muni
maybe watch a good G & I Fund
You want to get some of your income growth once again, the list almost too many, but money, Kiplingers, Barrons, Consumer Reports even run all a point of comparison for the best "in a given category.
good hunting ...
Posted on February 9, 2010.