Fund Evaluator:
Morningstar Municipal Bond (MSTPX)
Follow This Fund
Best Performing in Muni National Interm Over the Last Year
| 6.7% | Sit Tax-Free Income (SNTIX) |
| 4.6% | Goldman Sachs Dynamic Municipal Inc Inv (GUIRX) |
| 4.6% | Putnam Strategic Intermediate Muncpl Y (PAMYX) |
| 4.3% | Brown Advisory Tax Exempt Bond Investor (BIAEX) |
| 4.2% | Victory Tax Exempt Intermediate-Term (USATX) |
Fund Details
Morningstar Municipal Bond Overview
Morningstar Municipal Bond (MSTPX) is an actively managed Municipal Bond Muni National Interm fund. Morningstar launched the fund in 2018.
The investment seeks income exempt from federal income taxes as well as capital preservation. The fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, in securities of municipal issuers within the United States and its territories, the income of which is exempt from U.S. taxation. The Advisor intends to invest primarily in investment-grade municipal securities. The fund may also invest in derivatives, including options, futures, swaps, and inverse floating-rate debt instruments (inverse floaters), for risk management purposes or as part of its investment strategies.
About Morningstar Municipal Bond (MSTPX)
There are 8 members of the management team with an average tenure of 5.21 years: Robert Miller (2018), Daniel McNeela (2018), Bruce Johns (2019), Nicholos Venditti (2020), Austin Applegate (2023), Alexandra Cumings (2026), Adrian Van Poppel (2025), James Murphy (2018). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 3 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg Municipal TR USD index with a weighting of 100%, Bloomberg Municipal 1-3 Yr TR USD index with a weighting of 30% and Bloomberg Municipal TR USD index with a weighting of 70%. Morningstar Municipal Bond has 830 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 5.8% 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.
Morningstar Municipal Bond is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Municipal Bond fund group. Morningstar Municipal Bond has 1.6% 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 97.7% (96.1% domestic bond, 1.6% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Morningstar Municipal Bond has 2.3% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $331 million in total assets, which is below the $1 billion average for the Muni National 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.
MSTPX 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 Morningstar Municipal Bond expense ratio is average compared to funds in the Muni National Interm category. Morningstar Municipal Bond has an expense ratio of 0.58%, which is 15% 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 Morningstar Municipal Bond. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 38% for the Muni National Interm category.
Recently, in the month of August 2026, Morningstar Municipal Bond returned -0.0%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Muni National Interm category had an average return of -0.1%. 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.
Morningstar Municipal Bond has a trailing yield of 3.40%, which is above the 3.27% 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.
Morningstar Municipal Bond Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 0.7%, 0.5 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 3.9% over the past year (grade of B), 3.5% over the past three years (grade of C) and 0.9% per year over the past five years (grade of B).
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MSTPX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 8/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| MSTPX Return (NAV) | -0.0% | -0.7% | 3.9% | 3.5% | 0.9% | na |
| MSTPX Grade | B | A | B | C | B | na |
| +/- Category | 0.1% | 0.3% | 0.3% | -0.0% | 0.3% | na |
| Muni National Interm Avg | -0.1% | -1.0% | 3.7% | 3.5% | 0.6% | 1.7% |
| MSTPX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | na |
MSTPX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 8/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| MSTPX Return (NAV) | 0.7% | 3.4% | 2.6% | 5.6% | -7.2% | 1.5% | 4.0% | 6.2% | na | na | na |
| MSTPX Grade | A | F | A | C | B | C | D | D | na | na | na |
| +/- Category | 0.5% | -0.8% | 0.6% | -0.1% | 1.0% | -0.2% | -0.3% | -0.4% | na | na | na |
| Muni National Interm Avg | 0.3% | 4.2% | 2.0% | 5.7% | -8.2% | 1.7% | 4.3% | 6.7% | 0.8% | 4.7% | -0.2% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 4.3% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.35 - Low |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.91 - Below Average |
| Category Risk Grade: | B (22% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.75 |
| R-Squared: | 99% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | na |
| Bond Investment Style: | High Quality Moderate Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 3.4% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Monthly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | |
| Total Assets: | $331 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 332 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Inst |
| Portfolio Turnover: | na |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 8 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 7.8 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 5.2 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Miller Robert (2018), McNeela Daniel (2018), Murphy James (2018), Johns Bruce (2019), Venditti Nicholos (2020), Applegate Austin (2023), Van Poppel Adrian (2025), Cumings Alexandra (2026) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 7/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 830 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 5.8% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 1.6% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 96.1% |
| Foreign Bond: | 1.6% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 2.3% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Morningstar |
| Phone Number: | 202-551-8090 |
| Website: |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | November 2, 2018 |
| 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 (%): | 0.58% ( Rating : Avg ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.69% |
| Share Class: | Morningstar Municipal Bond |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
