iShares launches new series of municipal bond exchange-traded funds

By Jennifer Chiou

New York, Jan. 8 - iShares announced the introduction of a first-of-its-kind suite of municipal bond exchange-traded funds that will trade on the NYSE Arca.

According to a company release, the new muni series provides investors with the additional benefit of a planned end-date along with the features associated with iShares ETFs.

The San Francisco-based exchange-traded funds company said that the new funds include the:

• iShares 2012 S&P AMT-Free Municipal Series (NYSE: MUAA);

• iShares 2013 S&P AMT-Free Municipal Series (NYSE: MUAB);

• iShares 2014 S&P AMT-Free Municipal Series (NYSE: MUAC);

• iShares 2015 S&P AMT-Free Municipal Series (NYSE: MUAD);

• iShares 2016 S&P AMT-Free Municipal Series (NYSE: MUAE); and

• iShares 2017 S&P AMT-Free Municipal Series (NYSE: MUAF).

Each of the six new funds within the iShares muni series holds a basket of AMT-free, investment-grade, noncallable, national municipal bonds that mature in a targeted year.

The company noted that when each fund reaches its planned distribution date, it will distribute substantially all of its net assets to investors.

There also will continually be new funds offered in the series, with expense ratios of 0.3%.

Unlike a direct investment in municipal bonds, the breakdown of cash flows between fund monthly distributions and returns at maturity will be variable rather than fixed at the time of investment, the release added.

iShares has more than 380 funds.

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