ETF Watch: VanEck Files Muni Bond Fund
Proposed ETF will fill a hole in firm’s lineup.
VanEck recently filed for an ETF that will fill a rather glaring hole in its lineup of municipal bond funds. Although the firm offers muni bond ETFs targeting different maturity ranges, pre-refunded municipal debt, high-yield municipal debt and even closed-end funds covering muni bonds, the VanEck Vectors AMT-Free National Municipal Index ETF (MUNY) will be the only ETF VanEck offers to cover the broad municipal debt space.
The fund’s index covers tax-exempt investment-grade debt, which represents 75% of the portfolio, while noninvestment-grade debt receives a 25% weighting. The index is very broad, covering some 50,000 different bonds; not surprisingly, the prospectus notes that the fund will use a sampling strategy rather than fully replicating the index.
Components in the index are weighted by market value.
MUNY is slated to list on the Bats Global Markets stock exchange, which owns ETF.com. The filing did not include an expense ratio.
Contact Heather Bell at [email protected].