Fund Evaluator:
SEI Tax-Free Conservative Income F(SIMT) (TFCAX)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
SEI Tax-Free Conservative Income F(SIMT) Overview
SEI Tax-Free Conservative Income F(SIMT) (TFCAX) is an actively managed Municipal Bond Muni National Short fund. SEI launched the fund in 2016.
The investment seeks preserving principal value and maintaining a high degree of liquidity while providing current income exempt from federal income taxes. Under normal circumstances, the fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes) in U.S. dollar-denominated municipal securities that the fund's sub-adviser (the Sub-Adviser) believes present minimal credit risks to the fund and that pay interest that (i) is exempt from federal income taxes and (ii) is not taxable under the federal alternative minimum tax applicable to individuals.
About SEI Tax-Free Conservative Income F(SIMT) (TFCAX)
There are 5 members of the management team with an average tenure of 5.92 years: Richard Bamford (2016), Anthony Karaminas (2021), Kristi Manidis (2016), Daniel Falkowski (2022), Alicia De Lorenzo (2024). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and ICE BofA US 3M Trsy Bill TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. SEI Tax-Free Conservative Income F(SIMT) has 154 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 21.2% 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.
SEI Tax-Free Conservative Income F(SIMT) is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Municipal Bond fund group. SEI Tax-Free Conservative Income F(SIMT) 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 82.7% (82.7% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). SEI Tax-Free Conservative Income F(SIMT) has 17.3% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $205 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.
TFCAX 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 SEI Tax-Free Conservative Income F(SIMT) expense ratio is below average compared to funds in the Muni National Short category. SEI Tax-Free Conservative Income F(SIMT) has an expense ratio of 0.30%, which is 48% 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. A portfolio turnover rate cannot be currently calculated for SEI Tax-Free Conservative Income F(SIMT). By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 51% for the Muni National Short category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, SEI Tax-Free Conservative Income F(SIMT) returned 0.2%, 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.
SEI Tax-Free Conservative Income F(SIMT) has a trailing yield of 2.28%, which is below 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.
SEI Tax-Free Conservative Income F(SIMT) Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 1.2%, 0.4 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 2.2% over the past year (grade of F), 2.8% over the past three years (grade of F) and 2.2% per year over the past five years (grade of A) and 1.5% per year over the past 10 years (grade of D).
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TFCAX 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 |
|
| TFCAX Return (NAV) | 0.2% | 0.5% | 2.2% | 2.8% | 2.2% | 1.5% |
| TFCAX Grade | A | A | F | F | A | D |
| +/- Category | 0.7% | 0.4% | -0.5% | -0.4% | 0.7% | -0.1% |
| Muni National Short Avg | -0.5% | 0.1% | 2.7% | 3.2% | 1.5% | 1.5% |
| TFCAX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
TFCAX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| TFCAX Return (NAV) | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3.1% | 3.1% | 1.0% | 0.0% | 0.4% | 1.3% | 1.2% | 0.6% | na |
| TFCAX Grade | A | F | B | F | A | D | F | F | C | F | na |
| +/- Category | 0.4% | -1.4% | 0.5% | -0.7% | 4.2% | -0.4% | -2.1% | -2.1% | 0.0% | -1.3% | na |
| 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: | 0.2% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.02 - Low |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.10 - Low |
| Category Risk Grade: | A (2% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.00 |
| R-Squared: | 0% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | na |
| Bond Investment Style: | na |
| Yield: | 2.3% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Monthly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $211 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 206 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Other |
| Portfolio Turnover: | na |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 5 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 10.3 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 5.9 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Bamford Richard (2016), Manidis Kristi (2016), Karaminas Anthony (2021), Falkowski Daniel (2022), De Lorenzo Alicia (2024) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 154 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 21.2% |
| 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: | 82.7% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 17.3% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | SEI |
| Phone Number: | 800-342-5734 |
| Website: | www.seic.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | April 22, 2016 |
| 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: | na |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.30% ( Rating : Below Avg ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.58% |
| Share Class: | SEI Tax-Free Conservative Income Y(SIMT) |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $1,000 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |