Two more municipal-bond exchange traded funds (ETFs) began trading at the end of last week. Barclays’ iShares S&P California Municipal Bond Fund (CMF) and the iShares S&P New York Municipal Bond Fund (NYF) cover two of the biggest municipal bond markets in the country. They track subsets of the index underlying the iShares S&P National Municipal Bond (MUB), which was the first municipal-bond ETF launched. The S&P National Municipal Bond Index tracks about 3,000 securities. Both ETFs feature an expense ratio of 25 basis points, says Heather Bell for Index Universe.
Meanwhile, PowerShares is right behind Barclays with its Insured California Municipal Bond Portfolio, Insured New York Municipal Bond Portfolio as well as its 1-30 Laddered Treasury Portfolio that are set to launch tomorrow, reports David Hoffman for Investment News.
Barclays has been very aggressive in this market, leading the launches of the first municipal bond ETF as well as the state-specific ones. It will be interesting to watch these similar products compete and which ones attract the most investors.
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