Barclay’s Municipal Index

The Barclays Capital Municipal Bond Index is a rules-based, market-value-weighted index engineered for the long-term tax-exempt bond market. To be included in the index, bonds must be rated investment-grade (Baa3/BBB- or higher) by at least two of the following ratings agencies: Moody’s, S&P, Fitch. If only two of the three agencies rate the security, the lower rating is used to determine index eligibility. If only one of the three agencies rates a security, the rating must be investment-grade. They must have an outstanding par value of at least $7 million and be issued as part of a transaction of at least $75 million. The bonds must be fixed rate, have a dated-date after December 31, 1990, and must be at least one year from their maturity date. Remarketed issues, taxable municipal bonds, bonds with floating rates, and derivatives, are excluded from the benchmark.

The index has four main sectors: general obligation bonds, revenue bonds, insured bonds (including all insured bonds with a Aaa/AAA rating), and prerefunded bonds. Most of the index has historical data to January 1980. In addition, subindices have been create based on maturity, state, sector, quality, and revenue source, with inception dates later than January 1980.

  • Barclay’s 3 year municipal – effective maturity is from 2 to 3.999 Yrs
  • Barclay’s 5 year municipal – effective maturity is from 4 to 5.999 Yrs
  • Barclay’s 10 year municipal – effective maturity is from 8 to 11.999 Yrs
  • Barclay’s 15 year municipal – effective maturity is from 12 to 16.999 Yrs
  • Barclay’s 20 year municipal – effective maturity is from 17 to 21.999 Yrs

For more information, please visit the Barclay’s Factsheet for these indices

Barclay’s Government Bond Index

The Barclays Capital Municipal Bond Index is a rules-based, market-value-weighted index engineered for the US government bond market. To be included in the index, bonds must be rated investment grade (Baa3/BBB-/BBB- or above) using the middle rating of Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch, respectively. When all three agencies rate an issue, a median or “two out of three” rating is used to determine index eligibility by

dropping the highest and lowest rating. When a rating from only two agencies is available, the lower (“most conservative”) of the two is used. When a rating from only one agency is available, that rating is used to determine index eligibility. All bonds must have at least 1 year until final maturity, regardless of optionality. For securities with coupons that convert from fixed to floating-rate, at least 1 year until the conversion date must still exist.

  • Barclay’s 1-3 US Government – effective maturity is from 1-2.99 years
  • Barclay’s Govenrment Intermediate – effective maturity is from 3-4.999 years

For more information, please visit the Barclay’s Factsheet for these indices

Barclay’s Corporate Bond Index

The Barclays Capital Municipal Bond Index is a rules-based, market-value-weighted index engineered for the US government bond market. To be included in the index, a bond must be rated investment grade (Baa3/BBB-/BBB- or above) using the middle rating of Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch, respectively. When all three agencies rate an issue, a median or “two out of three” rating is used to determine index eligibility by

dropping the highest and lowest rating. When a rating from only two agencies is available, the lower (“most conservative”) of the two is used. When a rating from only one agency is available, that rating is used to determine index eligibility. All bonds must have at least 1 year until final maturity, regardless of optionality. For securities with coupons that convert from fixed to floating-rate, at least 1 year until the conversion date must still exist.

  • Barclay’s Short Corporate – effective maturity is from 1-2.99 years
  • Barclay’s Intermediate Corporate – effective maturity is from 3-4.99 years

For more information, please visit the Barclay’s Factsheet for these indices.

Lipper Indices

  • SHORT MUNICIPAL DEBT FUNDS – A fund that invests in municipal debt issues with dollar-weighted average maturities of less than three years. Number of INDEX COMPONENTS: 10.
  • SHORT/INTERMEDIATE MUNICIPAL DEBT FUNDS – A fund that invests in municipal debt issues with dollar-weighted average maturities of one to five years. Number of INDEX COMPONENTS: 10.
  • INTERMEDIATE MUNICIPAL DEBT FUNDS – A fund that invests in municipal debt issues with dollar-weighted average maturities of five to ten years. Number of INDEX COMPONENTS: 30.

Indices are not actively managed, and do not reflect the effect of management fees. If management fees were applied to index returns, the index returns would be lower.

Index returns are not subject to tax. Effective returns for taxable portfolios may be lower after applicable income or capital gains taxes. Please consult your tax professional for more detailed tax information.