Fund Evaluator:
Fidelity Tax-Free Bond (FTABX)
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Best Performing in Muni National Long Over the Last Year
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Fund Details
Fidelity Tax-Free Bond Overview
Fidelity Tax-Free Bond (FTABX) is an actively managed Municipal Bond Muni National Long fund. Fidelity Investments launched the fund in 2001.
The investment seeks to provide a high current yield exempt from federal income tax. The fund normally invests at least 80% of assets in municipal securities whose interest is exempt from federal income tax. It potentially invests more than 25% of total assets in municipal securities that finance similar types of projects. The fund does not invest in municipal securities whose interest is subject to federal income tax or in municipal securities whose interest is subject to the federal alternative minimum tax.
About Fidelity Tax-Free Bond (FTABX)
There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 8.08 years: Cormac Cullen (2016), Elizah McLaughlin (2018), Michael Maka (2020). 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 NonAmt TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Fidelity Tax-Free Bond has 1293 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 11.8% 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.
Fidelity Tax-Free Bond is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Municipal Bond fund group. Fidelity Tax-Free Bond has 0.7% 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 96.1% (95.4% domestic bond, 0.7% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Fidelity Tax-Free Bond has -0.6% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $3 billion in total assets, which is above the $1 billion 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.
FTABX 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 Fidelity Tax-Free Bond expense ratio is below average compared to funds in the Muni National Long category. Fidelity Tax-Free Bond has an expense ratio of 0.25%, which is 68% 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. Fidelity Tax-Free Bond has a portfolio turnover rate of 20%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.1 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 37% for the Muni National Long category.
Recently, in the month of June 2026, Fidelity Tax-Free Bond returned 0.8%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Muni National Long category had an average return of 1.0%. 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 funds in that category.
Fidelity Tax-Free Bond has a trailing yield of 3.20%, which is below the 3.62% category average. The fund normally distributes its income monthly and its capital gains semi-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.
Fidelity Tax-Free Bond Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 2.3%, 0.5 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 7.2% over the past year (grade of C), 4.2% over the past three years (grade of B) and 1.1% per year over the past five years (grade of A) and 2.3% per year over the past 10 years (grade of A).
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FTABX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 6/30/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| FTABX Return (NAV) | 0.8% | 2.5% | 7.2% | 4.2% | 1.1% | 2.3% |
| FTABX Grade | F | D | C | B | A | A |
| +/- Category | -0.2% | -0.4% | -0.2% | 0.2% | 0.5% | 0.4% |
| Muni National Long Avg | 1.0% | 2.9% | 7.5% | 4.0% | 0.6% | 1.9% |
| FTABX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
FTABX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 6/30/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| FTABX Return (NAV) | 2.3% | 4.5% | 1.8% | 7.5% | -10.1% | 2.6% | 5.0% | 8.6% | 0.8% | 6.4% | 0.4% |
| FTABX Grade | F | A | D | B | B | C | C | B | B | B | B |
| +/- Category | -0.5% | 1.5% | -0.7% | 0.7% | 1.5% | -0.2% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 0.1% | 0.6% | 0.2% |
| Muni National Long Avg | 2.8% | 3.0% | 2.5% | 6.8% | -11.6% | 2.8% | 4.7% | 8.1% | 0.7% | 5.8% | 0.2% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 5.8% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.48 - Below Average |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.91 - Below Average |
| Category Risk Grade: | B (31% Rank) |
| Beta: | 1.04 |
| R-Squared: | 99% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | na |
| Bond Investment Style: | High Quality Extensive Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 3.2% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Monthly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Semi-Annually |
| Total Assets: | $3899 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $3,900 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | No Load |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 20% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 3 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 10.2 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 8.1 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Cullen Cormac (2016), McLaughlin Elizah (2018), Maka Michael (2020) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 5/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 1293 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 11.8% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 0.7% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 95.4% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.7% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 4.4% |
| Cash: | -0.6% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Fidelity Investments |
| Phone Number: | 800-544-8544 |
| Website: | www.institutional.fidelity.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | April 10, 2001 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $25,000 |
| 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 (%): | 0.25% ( Rating : Below Avg ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.78% |
| Share Class: | Fidelity Tax-Free Bond |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
