Investing in municipal debt helps to lower portfolio risk, as well as earn a decent return for investors. Moreover, the income from these funds is exempt from federal and state taxes. If you live in Ohio, then you could invest in Muni Ohio funds to invest in a portfolio of municipal securities. Muni Ohio funds put a minimum of 80% of their assets in Ohio municipal debt of various durations, including short, long and intermediate. These funds are usually more appealing to Ohio residents as income from these funds are exempt from federal and Ohio state taxes. Let’s take a look at the top 10 Muni Ohio funds.
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Top Ten Muni Ohio Funds
We have used the past one year data (from money.usnews.com) to come up with the top 10 Muni Ohio funds. Following are the top 10 Muni Ohio funds:
Johnson Municipal Income Fund (MUTF:JMUNX) invests in investment grade municipal securities. This fund has returned 0.45% in the last six months and over 4.2% in the past three years. JMUNX has over $270 million in total assets. The top three holdings of the fund are: Dreyfus Tx-Ex Cash Mgmt Instl, FRANKLIN CNTY OHIO HOSP REV 5% and FEDERAL HOME LN MTG CORP MULTIFAMILY VAR RATE CTFS RELATING TO MUN SECS 2.5.
Touchstone Core Municipal Bond Fund (MUTF:TOHAX) normally invests in high-quality, long-term Ohio municipal obligations, such as industrial development bonds, general obligation bonds and revenue bonds. This fund has returned almost 1% in the last six months and over 4.4% in the past three years. TOHAX has over $69 million in total assets. The top three holdings of the fund are: CINCINNATI OHIO ECONOMIC DEV REV 5%, BUTLER CNTY OHIO HOSP FACS REV 5% and CINCINNATI OHIO URBAN REDEV REV 5%.
Franklin Ohio Tax-Free Income Fund (MUTF:FTOIX) only invests in municipal securities that are rated in one of the top four ratings categories by recognized rating services. This fund has returned almost 1% in the last six months and over 4% in the past three years. FTOIX has over $1.7 billion in total assets. The top three holdings of the fund are: OHIO ST TPK COMMN TPK REV 5%, BUCKEYE OHIO TOB SETTLEMENT FING AUTH 3% and JOBSOHIO BEVERAGE SYS OHIO STATEWIDE LIQUOR PROFITS REV 5%.
Eaton Vance Ohio Municipal Income Fund (MUTF:ETOHX) aims to offer current income that is exempt from federal income tax and Ohio state personal income taxes. This fund has returned almost 1% in the last six months and over 5% in the past three years. ETOHX has over $194 million in total assets. The top three holdings of the fund are: SPRINGBORO OHIO CMNTY CITY SCH DIST 5.25%, KETTERING OHIO CITY SCH DIST 5.25% and WESTERVILLE OHIO CITY SCH DIST 5%.
Nuveen Ohio Municipal Bond Fund (MUTF:FOHTX) may also invest a maximum of 20% of its net assets in below investment grade municipal bonds, or "high yield" or "junk" bonds. This fund has returned more than 1.2% in the last six months and over 4% in the past three years. FOHTX has over $767 million in total assets. The top three holdings of the fund are: FRANKLIN CNTY OHIO SALES TAX REV 5%, BUCKEYE OHIO TOB SETTLEMENT FING AUTH 5% and OHIO ST 5%.
Federated Hermes Ohio Municipal Income Fund (MUTF:OMIAX) invests in a portfolio of tax-exempt securities, which income is exempt from federal regular income tax and Ohio’s personal income taxes. This fund has returned more than 1.2% in the last six months and over 4% in the past three years. OMIAX has over $155 million in total assets. The top three holdings of the fund are: OHIO ST PRIVATE ACTIVITY REV 5%, FRANKLIN CNTY OHIO SALES TAX REV 5% and OHIO ST 5%.
Putnam Ohio Tax Exempt Income Fund (MUTF:PXOHX) mainly invests in investment-grade bonds with intermediate- to long-term maturities. This fund has returned more than 1.7% in the last six months and over 4.6% in the past three years. PXOHX has over $103 million in total assets. The top three holdings of the fund are: 5 Year Treasury Note Future Sept 21, FRANKLIN CNTY OHIO REV 5% and HAMILTON CNTY OHIO SALES TAX 0%.
Fidelity® Ohio Municipal Income Fund (MUTF:FOHFX) may invest over 25% of its total assets in municipal securities financing similar projects. This fund has returned more than 1.5% in the last six months and over 4.8% in the past three years. FOHFX has over $720 million in total assets. The top two holdings of the fund are: LAKE CNTY OHIO HOSP FACS REV 5% and AKRON BATH COPLEY OHIO JT TWP HOSP DIST REV 5.25%.
Vanguard Ohio Long-Term Tax-Exempt Fund (MUTF:VOHIX) mainly invests in high-quality municipal bonds from Ohio state and local governments, regional governmental and public financing authorities. This fund has returned more than 1.7% in the last six months and over 6% in the past three years. VOHIX has over $1.7 billion in total assets. The top two holdings of the fund are: OHIO ST UNIV GEN RCPTS and BUCKEYE OHIO TOB SETTLEMENT FING AUTH.
AB Municipal Income Fund II Ohio Portfolio (MUTF:AOHAX) may invest in securities, the interest from which could be subject to AMT (alternative minimum tax) for some taxpayers. This fund has returned more than 1.7% in the last six months and over 4.73% in the past three years. AOHAX has over $73 million in total assets. The top two holdings of the fund are: HAMILTON CNTY OHIO SWR SYS REV 5% and OHIO ST HIGHER EDL FAC COMMN REV 5%.
