“Muni bonds are also attractive to foreign investors for another reason: they are perceived as safe havens, being thought similar to U.S. Treasuries, with near-zero default rates,” Cohick said. “We believe the safe haven reputation is well deserved.”
ETF investors can also capitalize on the growing support from foreign demand through a number of munis-related ETF options.
For example, the VanEck Vectors CEF Municipal Income ETF (NYSEArca: XMPT), which tries to reflect the performance of the S-Network Municipal Bond Closed-End Fund Index, comes with an attractive 5.15% 30-day SEC yield or an 8.52% taxable equivalent 30-day SEC yield for those in the highest income bracket. Moreover, XMPT provides distributions on a monthly basis for those income-oriented investors.
Unlike other muni bonds, XMPT tracks shares of municipal closed-end funds. Closed-end funds, or CEFs, are publicly traded investment companies that raise a fixed amount of capital through an initial public offering, and the fund is then structured, listed and traded like a stock on an exchange.
The VanEck Vectors High Yield Municipal Index ETF (NYSEArca: HYD) is also another high-yield muni option, with a 4.44% 30-day SEC yield or a 7.34% taxable equivalent 30-day SEC yield for those in the highest income bracket. HYD has also been a popular foreign play, with 6.5% of the fund’s assets coming from abroad and nearly $100 million from Taiwan where yields on 10-year government bonds hover around 1.1%.
For a more traditional muni play, the VanEck Vectors AMT-Free Intermediate Municipal Index ETF (NYSEArca: ITM) tracks intermediate duration investment-grade munis with an effective duration of 7.12 years. ITM comes with a 2.47% 30-day SEC yield, or a taxable equivalent 4.09% yield.
A long-term muni fund like the VanEck Vectors AMT-Free Long Municipal Index ETF (NYSEArca: MLN) comes with a more attractive 3.27% 30-day SEC yield or a taxable equivalent 5.41% yield, but it is exposed to greater interest rate risk, with an effective duration of 11.31 years.