Muni bond ETFs continued to tumble Monday with the funds stil trading below indicative value in the wake of last week’s rush for the exits.
The iShares National AMT-Free Muni Bond ETF (NYSEArca: MUB) was down more than 1% in early trading after falling the previous five sessions.
The fund’s loss was compounded by trading at a discount of more than 3% to intraday indicative value, according to Morningstar data. SPDR Nuveen Barclays Capital Muni Bond ETF (NYSEArca: TFI) also traded at a discount of more than 3%.
ETFs tracking illiquid asset classes can deviate away from the net asset value of the underlying market in volatile markets. [Falling Muni Bond ETFs Trade at Discounts as Rates Climb]
Last week, the Financial Times reported that State Street temporarily suspended cash redemptions in its muni bond products. State Street resumed cash redemptions on Friday after the previous day’s halt, although in-kind redemptions were accepted on both days, according to the FT.
The State Street news underscored how hard-pressed frantic sellers became in the heat of last week’s sell-off, reports Chris Dieterich for WSJ.com MoneyBeat.
“On Thursday, selling bonds became so difficult and expensive that State Street disallowed the option for dealers to take cash. For State Street, the risk was that unloading bonds could eat into investor returns, or cause the ETF’s price to veer from its underlying index,” according to the report.
SPDR Nuveen Barclays Capital Muni Bond ETF
