Fund Evaluator:
Nuveen NJ Municipal Bond I (NMNJX)
Follow This Fund
Best Performing in Muni New Jersey Over the Last Year
| 6.9% | Invesco New Jersey Municipal Y (ONJYX) |
| 6.7% | Vanguard NJ Long-Term Tax-Exempt Adm (VNJUX) |
| 6.6% | Vanguard NJ Long-Term Tax-Exempt Inv (VNJTX) |
| 6.5% | T. Rowe Price New Jersey Municipal Bond (NJTFX) |
| 4.8% | Fidelity New Jersey Municipal Income (FNJHX) |
Fund Details
Nuveen NJ Municipal Bond I Overview
Nuveen NJ Municipal Bond I (NMNJX) is an actively managed Municipal Bond Muni New Jersey fund. Nuveen launched the fund in 1992.
The investment seeks to provide with as high a level of current interest income exempt from regular federal, New Jersey State and, in some cases, New Jersey local income taxes as is consistent with preservation of capital. The fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in investment grade municipal bonds rated BBB/Baa or higher at the time of purchase by at least one independent rating agency, or, if unrated, judged by the fund’s sub-adviser to be of comparable quality. The fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in below investment grade municipal bonds, commonly referred to as “high yield” or “junk” bonds.
About Nuveen NJ Municipal Bond I (NMNJX)
There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 6.42 years: Steven Hlavin (2023), Kristen DeJong (2025), Paul Brennan (2011). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: S&P Municipal Bond TR index with a weighting of 100% and S&P Municipal Bond New Jersey TR index with a weighting of 100%. Nuveen NJ Municipal Bond I has 264 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 15.8% 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.
Nuveen NJ Municipal Bond I is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Municipal Bond fund group. Nuveen NJ Municipal Bond I has 2.6% 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 96.2% (93.6% domestic bond, 2.6% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Nuveen NJ Municipal Bond I has 3.8% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $172 million in total assets, which is below the $176 million average for the Muni New Jersey 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.
NMNJX 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 Nuveen NJ Municipal Bond I expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Muni New Jersey category. Nuveen NJ Municipal Bond I has an expense ratio of 0.60%, which is 24% 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. Nuveen NJ Municipal Bond I has a portfolio turnover rate of 15%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.1 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 26% for the Muni New Jersey category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, Nuveen NJ Municipal Bond I returned -1.8%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Muni New Jersey category had an average return of -1.8%. 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.
Nuveen NJ Municipal Bond I has a trailing yield of 3.37%, which is above the 3.26% 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.
Nuveen NJ Municipal Bond I Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 0.4%, 0.2 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of D. The fund has returned 5.6% over the past year (grade of D), 3.1% over the past three years (grade of C) and 0.3% per year over the past five years (grade of C) and 1.9% per year over the past 10 years (grade of C).
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NMNJX 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 |
|
| NMNJX Return (NAV) | -1.8% | -0.6% | 5.6% | 3.1% | 0.3% | 1.9% |
| NMNJX Grade | B | C | D | C | C | C |
| +/- Category | 0.0% | -0.0% | -0.3% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| Muni New Jersey Avg | -1.8% | -0.6% | 5.9% | 3.0% | 0.3% | 1.9% |
| NMNJX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
NMNJX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| NMNJX Return (NAV) | 0.4% | 3.9% | 1.4% | 7.4% | -10.3% | 2.2% | 4.5% | 8.0% | 1.1% | 6.9% | 0.8% |
| NMNJX Grade | D | A | D | B | C | D | B | B | D | A | B |
| +/- Category | -0.2% | 0.5% | -0.5% | 0.6% | -0.2% | -0.4% | 0.1% | 0.4% | -1.4% | 2.6% | 0.1% |
| Muni New Jersey Avg | 0.6% | 3.4% | 1.9% | 6.7% | -10.1% | 2.6% | 4.4% | 7.6% | 2.5% | 4.3% | 0.8% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 6.5% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.53 - Below Average |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.12 - High |
| Category Risk Grade: | F (95% Rank) |
| Beta: | 1.13 |
| R-Squared: | 98% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | na |
| Bond Investment Style: | na |
| Yield: | 3.4% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Monthly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $380 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 173 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Inst |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 15% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 3 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 15.6 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 6.4 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Brennan Paul (2011), Hlavin Steven (2023), DeJong Kristen (2025) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 264 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 15.8% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 2.6% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 93.6% |
| Foreign Bond: | 2.6% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 3.8% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Nuveen |
| Phone Number: | 800-257-8787 |
| Website: | www.nuveen.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | February 28, 1992 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $100,000 |
| 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: | 0.00% |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.60% ( Rating : Above Avg ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.79% |
| Share Class: | Nuveen NJ Municipal Bond I |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
