Fund Evaluator:
Federated Hermes Municipal Ultrashort R6 (FMULX)Best Performing in Muni National Short Over the Last Year
| 3.5% | PGIM Short Duration Muni Z (PDSZX) |
| 3.0% | BlackRock Short Duration Muni Inv A1 (MDLMX) |
| 3.0% | Vanguard Ultra Short-Term Tx-Ex Adm (VWSUX) |
| 2.9% | Vanguard Ultra Short-Term Tx-Ex (VWSTX) |
| 2.8% | Vanguard Ltd-Term Tx-Ex Adm (VMLUX) |
Fund Details
Federated Hermes Municipal Ultrashort R6 Overview
Federated Hermes Municipal Ultrashort R6 (FMULX) is an actively managed Municipal Bond Muni National Short fund. Federated launched the fund in 2019.
The investment seeks to provide current income exempt from federal regular income tax. The fund will invest at least 65% of its assets in securities rated investment-grade without regard to the maturity of the securities and may purchase securities rated below investment-grade without regard to the maturity of the securities up to 35% of its assets. It will normally invest so that at least 80% of its net assets are in tax-exempt securities or at least 80% of its annual interest income is exempt from federal regular income tax.
About Federated Hermes Municipal Ultrashort R6 (FMULX)
There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 1.57 years: Ann Ferentino (2025), Kyle Stewart (2024). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 3 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg Municipal 1 Yr 1-2 TR USD index with a weighting of 100%, Lipper Tax-Exempt MM Fd Avg index with a weighting of 50% and Bloomberg Municipal 1 Yr 1-2 TR USD index with a weighting of 50%. Federated Hermes Municipal Ultrashort R6 has 273 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 19.2% 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.
Federated Hermes Municipal Ultrashort R6 is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Municipal Bond fund group. Federated Hermes Municipal Ultrashort R6 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 95.6% (95.6% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Federated Hermes Municipal Ultrashort R6 has 4.4% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $79 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.
FMULX 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 Federated Hermes Municipal Ultrashort R6 expense ratio is below average compared to funds in the Muni National Short category. Federated Hermes Municipal Ultrashort R6 has an expense ratio of 0.34%, which is 41% 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. Federated Hermes Municipal Ultrashort R6 has a portfolio turnover rate of 47%, 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, Federated Hermes Municipal Ultrashort R6 returned -0.1%, which earned it a grade of A, 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.
Federated Hermes Municipal Ultrashort R6 has a trailing yield of 2.89%, which is above 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.
Federated Hermes Municipal Ultrashort R6 Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 1.3%, 0.5 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 2.6% over the past year (grade of C), 3.5% over the past three years (grade of B) and 2.4% per year over the past five years (grade of A) and 1.8% per year over the past 10 years (grade of A).
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FMULX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| FMULX Return (NAV) | -0.1% | 0.5% | 2.6% | 3.5% | 2.4% | 1.8% |
| FMULX Grade | A | A | C | B | A | A |
| +/- Category | 0.4% | 0.4% | -0.1% | 0.2% | 0.9% | 0.3% |
| Muni National Short Avg | -0.5% | 0.1% | 2.7% | 3.2% | 1.5% | 1.5% |
| FMULX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | na |
FMULX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| FMULX Return (NAV) | 1.3% | 3.5% | 3.6% | 4.0% | -0.4% | 0.2% | 1.1% | 2.0% | 1.5% | 1.2% | 0.7% |
| FMULX Grade | A | D | A | B | A | C | F | F | B | D | A |
| +/- Category | 0.5% | -0.5% | 1.0% | 0.1% | 2.8% | -0.2% | -1.3% | -1.4% | 0.3% | -0.7% | 0.9% |
| Muni National Short Avg | 0.8% | 4.0% | 2.6% | 3.9% | -3.2% | 0.4% | 2.4% | 3.4% | 1.2% | 1.9% | -0.1% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 0.7% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.06 - Low |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.35 - Low |
| Category Risk Grade: | A (14% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.10 |
| R-Squared: | 66% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | na |
| Bond Investment Style: | High Quality Limited Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 2.9% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Monthly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | |
| Total Assets: | $1450 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 80 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Retirement |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 47% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 2 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 1.7 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 1.6 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Stewart Kyle (2024), Ferentino Ann (2025) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 3/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 273 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 19.2% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 0.0% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 95.6% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 4.4% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Federated |
| Phone Number: | 800-341-7400 |
| Website: | www.federatedinvestors.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | May 29, 2019 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
| True No-Load: | Yes |
| Front Load Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | na |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.34% ( Rating : Below Avg ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.58% |
| Share Class: | Federated Hermes Municipal Ultrashort IS |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |