Fund Evaluator:

Western Asset Short Duration Muni Inc C2 Overview

Western Asset Short Duration Muni Inc C2 (CIABX) is an actively managed Municipal Bond Muni National Short fund. Franklin Templeton Investments launched the fund in 2020.

The investment seeks to generate high current income exempt from regular federal income tax while preserving capital. Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of its assets in municipal securities and in participation or other interests in municipal securities issued by banks, insurance companies or other financial institutions. Municipal securities are securities and other investments with similar economic characteristics the interest on which is exempt from regular federal income tax.

About Western Asset Short Duration Muni Inc C2 (CIABX)

There are 5 members of the management team with an average tenure of 10.16 years: Ryan Brist (2024), John Mooney (2023), David Fare (2003), Michael Buchanan (2024), Robert Amodeo (2007). 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 Bloomberg Municipal 3 Yr 2-4 TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Western Asset Short Duration Muni Inc C2 has 143 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 20.7% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

Western Asset Short Duration Muni Inc C2 is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Municipal Bond fund group. Western Asset Short Duration Muni Inc C2 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 100.8% (100.8% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Western Asset Short Duration Muni Inc C2 has -0.8% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $729 million in total assets, which is below the $633 million average for the Muni National Short 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.

CIABX 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 Western Asset Short Duration Muni Inc C2 expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Muni National Short category. Western Asset Short Duration Muni Inc C2 has an expense ratio of 1.14%, which is 98% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a F. 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. Western Asset Short Duration Muni Inc C2 has a portfolio turnover rate of 25%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 51% for the Muni National Short category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, Western Asset Short Duration Muni Inc C2 returned -0.4%, which earned it a grade of C, as the Muni National Short category had an average return of -0.5%. 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.

Western Asset Short Duration Muni Inc C2 has a trailing yield of 2.08%, which is below the 2.78% category average. The fund normally distributes its income monthly.

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.

Western Asset Short Duration Muni Inc C2 Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 0.4%, 0.4 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 1.9% over the past year (grade of F), 2.6% over the past three years (grade of F) and 0.9% per year over the past five years (grade of F) and 0.9% per year over the past 10 years (grade of F).

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