Fund Evaluator:

Sterling Capital VA Interm Tax-Free I Overview

Sterling Capital VA Interm Tax-Free I (BVATX) is an actively managed Municipal Bond Muni Single State Interm fund. Sterling Capital Funds launched the fund in 1999.

The investment seeks current income exempt from federal and Virginia income taxes consistent with preservation of capital. The fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets in investments the income from which is exempt from federal income tax, alternative minimum tax, and Virginia personal income tax ("Virginia Tax-Exempt Obligations"). It invests primarily in municipal securities of the Commonwealth of Virginia and its political subdivisions that provide income exempt from both federal personal income tax and Virginia personal income tax. The fund will maintain an average duration of 3.5 to 8 years. It is non-diversified.

About Sterling Capital VA Interm Tax-Free I (BVATX)

There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 5.59 years: Mike McVicker (2016), Mark Merullo (2025). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg Municipal TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and ICE BofA 2-17Y US Muni TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Sterling Capital VA Interm Tax-Free I has 40 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 35.5% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a nondiversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

Sterling Capital VA Interm Tax-Free I is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Municipal Bond fund group. Sterling Capital VA Interm Tax-Free I 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 99.3% (99.3% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Sterling Capital VA Interm Tax-Free I has 0.7% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $19 million in total assets, which is below the $85 million average for the Muni Single State Interm 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.

BVATX 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 Sterling Capital VA Interm Tax-Free I expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Muni Single State Interm category. Sterling Capital VA Interm Tax-Free I has an expense ratio of 0.62%, which is 26% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a B. 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. Sterling Capital VA Interm Tax-Free I has a portfolio turnover rate of 17%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.1 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 41% for the Muni Single State Interm category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, Sterling Capital VA Interm Tax-Free I returned -1.8%, which earned it a grade of C, as the Muni Single State Interm category had an average return of -1.7%. 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 funds in that category.

Sterling Capital VA Interm Tax-Free I has a trailing yield of 2.60%, which is below the 3.00% 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.

Sterling Capital VA Interm Tax-Free I Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned -0.7%, 1.0 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 2.4% over the past year (grade of F), 1.9% over the past three years (grade of F) and 0.1% per year over the past five years (grade of D) and 1.1% per year over the past 10 years (grade of D).

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