ETF Evaluator: Northern Trust Tax Exempt Bond ETF () Follow This ETF

Northern Trust Tax Exempt Bond ETF Overview

Northern Trust Tax Exempt Bond ETF (TAXT) is a passively managed Municipal Bond Muni National Long exchange-traded fund (ETF). Northern Trust launched the ETF in 2025.

The investment seeks results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the ICE All Maturity Focused Municipal Bond Index. The underlying index is designed to measure the performance of the investment-grade segment of the U.S. municipal bond market as determined by ICE Data Indices, LLC, the index provider. Under normal circumstances, the fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in debt instruments that pay interest that is exempt from regular federal income tax. The fund is non-diversified.

About Northern Trust Tax Exempt Bond ETF (TAXT)

There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 0.95 years: David Alongi (2025), Michael Chico (2025) and Timothy Blair (2025). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

The ETF has 1 primary benchmark: ICE All Maturity Focused Muni Bd TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Northern Trust Tax Exempt Bond ETF has 1298 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 3.5% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a nondiversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

Northern Trust Tax Exempt Bond ETF is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Municipal Bond ETF group. Northern Trust Tax Exempt Bond ETF has 0.0% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.0% There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 98.8% (98.8% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Northern Trust Tax Exempt Bond ETF has 1.2% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $60 million in total assets, which is below the $744 million average for the Muni National Long category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.

TAXT Performance and Fees

The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The Northern Trust Tax Exempt Bond ETF expense ratio is low compared to funds in the Muni National Long category. Northern Trust Tax Exempt Bond ETF has an expense ratio of 0.05%, which is 90% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a A. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.

High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. Northern Trust Tax Exempt Bond ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 4%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.2 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 22% for the Muni National Long category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, Northern Trust Tax Exempt Bond ETF returned -1.5%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Muni National Long category had an average return of -2.0%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all ETFs in that category.

Northern Trust Tax Exempt Bond ETF has a trailing yield of 0.00%, which is below the 4.12% category average. The fund normally distributes its income monthly and its capital gains annually.

It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.

Northern Trust Tax Exempt Bond ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 0.6%, 0.4 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of D.

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