Fund Evaluator:
Thornburg Limited-Term Muni Inst (LTMIX)
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Fund Details
Thornburg Limited-Term Muni Inst Overview
Thornburg Limited-Term Muni Inst (LTMIX) is an actively managed Municipal Bond Muni National Short fund. Thornburg launched the fund in 1996.
The investment seeks to obtain as high a level of current income exempt from federal individual income tax as is consistent, in the view of the fund's investment advisor, with preservation of capital; to reduce expected changes in its share price compared to longer intermediate and long-term bond portfolios is the secondary objective. The fund pursues its primary goal by investing principally in a laddered maturity portfolio of municipal obligations issued by states and state agencies, local governments and their agencies and by United States territories and possessions.
About Thornburg Limited-Term Muni Inst (LTMIX)
There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 4.97 years: Eve Lando (2020), David Ashley (2019), Craig Mauermann (2025). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: ICE BofA US Muni TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and ICE BofA 1-10Y US Muni TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Thornburg Limited-Term Muni Inst has 811 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 13.9% 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.
Thornburg Limited-Term Muni Inst is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Municipal Bond fund group. Thornburg Limited-Term Muni Inst 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 99.8% (99.8% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Thornburg Limited-Term Muni Inst has 0.2% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $1 billion in total assets, which is above 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.
LTMIX 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 Thornburg Limited-Term Muni Inst expense ratio is average compared to funds in the Muni National Short category. Thornburg Limited-Term Muni Inst has an expense ratio of 0.53%, which is 8% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a C. 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. A portfolio turnover rate cannot be currently calculated for Thornburg Limited-Term Muni Inst. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 51% for the Muni National Short category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, Thornburg Limited-Term Muni Inst returned -0.8%, which earned it a grade of D, 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.
Thornburg Limited-Term Muni Inst has a trailing yield of 3.54%, which is above the 2.78% 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.
Thornburg Limited-Term Muni Inst Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 0.5%, 0.3 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of D. The fund has returned 2.9% over the past year (grade of B), 3.2% over the past three years (grade of C) and 1.1% per year over the past five years (grade of D) and 1.5% per year over the past 10 years (grade of D).
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LTMIX 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 |
|
| LTMIX Return (NAV) | -0.8% | -0.1% | 2.9% | 3.2% | 1.1% | 1.5% |
| LTMIX Grade | D | D | B | C | D | D |
| +/- Category | -0.3% | -0.2% | 0.2% | 0.0% | -0.3% | -0.1% |
| Muni National Short Avg | -0.5% | 0.1% | 2.7% | 3.2% | 1.5% | 1.5% |
| LTMIX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
LTMIX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| LTMIX Return (NAV) | 0.5% | 4.9% | 1.6% | 4.5% | -4.8% | 0.0% | 3.2% | 4.1% | 1.1% | 2.6% | -0.4% |
| LTMIX Grade | D | A | F | A | F | D | B | B | D | A | D |
| +/- Category | -0.3% | 0.8% | -1.0% | 0.6% | -1.6% | -0.4% | 0.8% | 0.7% | -0.0% | 0.7% | -0.3% |
| 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: | 3.1% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.25 - Low |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.50 - High |
| Category Risk Grade: | F (88% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.52 |
| R-Squared: | 91% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | na |
| Bond Investment Style: | High Quality Limited Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 3.5% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Monthly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $2090 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $1,650 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Inst |
| Portfolio Turnover: | na |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 3 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 7.5 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 5.0 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Ashley David (2019), Lando Eve (2020), Mauermann Craig (2025) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 811 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 13.9% |
| 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: | 99.8% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 0.2% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Thornburg |
| Phone Number: | 800-847-0200 |
| Website: | www.thornburg.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | July 5, 1996 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $2,500,000 |
| 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 (%): | 0.53% ( Rating : Avg ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.58% |
| Share Class: | Thornburg Limited-Term Muni A |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 100 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
