Jiebi News reported that Franklin Federal Tax-Free Income Fund (advisory type, net of fees) outperformed its benchmark, the Bloomberg Municipal Bond Index, in the second quarter of 2026. The fund overweighed municipal bonds with maturities of more than 20 years, and also overweighed BBB-rated and A-rated bonds. The report noted that the amount of new municipal bond issuance in the second quarter of 2026 continued to grow at a rate that was 8% higher than last year. By the end of the quarter, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose by 15 basis points to reach 4.47%.

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DCADog
· 1h ago
With 20+ year duration overweights and a strategy of drifting down the ratings, this combination can outperform the benchmark in an interest-rate-up environment of 15bp—showing the fund manager’s ability to pick securities.
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NewChainWatcher
· 2h ago
BBB and A are both over-allocated; on credit spreads, they’ve been taking it quite aggressively. When volatility picks up, the pullback is likely to be significant too.
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L2Nightwatch
· 2h ago
The new issuance volume of municipal bonds can still maintain an 8% growth rate, indicating that institutional demand is indeed propping it up.
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WhaleInAGlassBottle
· 2h ago
10Y Treasury bonds have hit 4.47%; the appeal of tax-free yields has relatively declined, but funds can still overweight long-duration assets—are they betting on expectations of interest-rate cuts?
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OptionStrategist
· 2h ago
New issuance in the second quarter was up 8% year over year; supply pressure is still significant. It’s genuinely not easy to outperform the benchmark.
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