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Municipal bonds, or "muni bonds," comprise debt securities that are issued by various states, cities, counties and other governmental entities to raise money to build roads, schools, and a host of other projects for the public good. These municipal securities regularly make interest payments, usually semi-annually, and pay the original investment or principal amount at the time of maturity. Interest paid on such bonds is generally exempted from federal taxes, making them especially attractive to people in higher income tax brackets.

Thus, risk-averse investors looking to earn a regular tax-free income may consider municipal bonds mutual funds. These mutual funds are believed to provide regular income while protecting the capital invested. While mutual funds from this category seek to provide dividends more frequently than other bonds, they offer greater stability than those primarily focusing on equity and alternative securities.

­­Below, we share with you three top-ranked municipal bond funds, namely, Colorado Bondshares (HICOX - Free Report), Vanguard Limited Term Tax-exempt Fund (VMLTX - Free Report), and Invesco Limited Term Municipal Income Fund (AITFX - Free Report). Each has earned a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and is expected to outperform its peers in the future. 

Colorado Bondshares fund invests most of its assets, along with borrowings, if any, in tax-exempt bonds, securities, notes and municipal leases of political subdivisions, municipalities, and public authorities in the State of Colorado. HICOX only invests in Tax-Exempted securities.

Colorado Bondshares fund has five-year annualized returns of 4.4%. As of the end of December 2024, HICOX had 30.8% of its net assets invested in Miscellaneous Bonds.

Vanguard Limited Term Tax-exempt Fund invests most of its net assets in municipal bonds with top three credit-rating categories by nationally recognized rating agencies, or determined to be of comparable quality by the fund’s advisors. It also invests a small portion of its net assets in securities with lower credit ratings. VMLTX advisors try to maintain a dollar-weighted average maturity of 2 to 6 years on individual securities.

Vanguard Limited Term Tax-exempt Fund has five-year annualized returns of 2.6%. VMLTX has an expense ratio of 0.17%.

Invesco Limited Term Municipal Income Fund seeks income exempted from federal tax by investing most of its assets, along with borrowings, if any, in investment-grade municipal debt securities that either pay interest excluded from gross income for federal income tax purposes or do not produce income that will be considered an item of preference for purposes of the alternative minimum tax. AITFX advisors try to maintain a dollar-weighted average with an effective portfolio maturity of five years or less.

Invesco Limited Term Municipal Income Fund has five-year annualized returns of 2.4%. Jack Connelly has been the fund manager of AITFX since April 2016.

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