Fidelity adds a new twist to municipal bond investing

By Mark Jewell AP Personal Finance Writer BOSTON (AP) -- Fidelity Investments is taking a target-date approach to municipal bond investing, launching mutual funds designed to protect investors against the possibility of a loss just when they need to withdraw cash. Each of the four funds Fidelity introduced last week invests in muni bonds that mature around the same date, rather than a mix of bonds with maturities that may vary by several years. That feature is designed to reduce the risk that an ill-timed spike in interest rates might reduce the value of the bonds just as the investor needs to access the money. It's similar to the thinking behind target-date mutual funds, which automatically adjust their stock-and-bond portfolios to a more conservative mix approaching an investor's retirement. Here's a look at Fidelity's new muni funds: Fund details. These are national muni bond funds, which invest across the country in investment-grade bonds issued by state and local governments to finance everything from sewer projects to roads. The Fidelity Municipal Income 2015 fund is designed for investors who expect to retire around four years from now, or anticipate other needs requiring them to make withdrawals -- a child starting college, for example. The bonds the fund holds are due to mature around mid-2015. The other three funds invest in bonds maturing in 2017, 2019 and 2021. Another unique feature is designed to ensure that the fund can distribute cash to long-term investors in an orderly and fair manner when the portfolios mature. New investors won't be allowed to get in the fund within a 12-month period before the maturity date, and existing investors won't be able to purchase additional fund shares. Once the maturity date passes, the fund will liquidate, and distribute cash to investors. During the lifetime of the funds, investors will receive monthly distributions that are exempt from federal taxes -- a key aspect of muni bonds' appeal, especially for investors in upper tax brackets. Investors have the option of withdrawing the distributions as monthly income, or reinvesting to maximize the payout at maturity. The funds will be run by Fidelity's team of muni bond managers. Individual investors will pay an expense ratio of 0.40 percent. That's the ongoing charge for operating the fund, expressed as a percentage of assets. The goal. Bond investors now face substantial long-term risk from an inevitable rise in short-term interest rates, currently near zero. When the Federal Reserve raises rates, prices for bonds with locked-in rates will drop. That's because investors will be able to buy newly issued bonds paying higher interest. Investment returns will decline at muni bond funds, which continually recycle their portfolios as bonds mature. Losses are possible. Fidelity's approach is designed to ease such volatility just before an investor needs to make withdrawals. However, investors shouldn't expect a pre-determined yield, as they'd get from directly investing in individual bonds and holding them until they mature. But investing in munis through a fund means an investor faces less risk from the possibility of a default. Muni funds typically hold diversified portfolios of hundreds of muni bonds, selected by professionals who research credit risks. That's crucial these days. Muni credit risks are higher now because many states and cities are in critically poor financial shape. That's one reason many investors have stampeded out of muni bond funds recently. Through the first five months of this year, the net withdrawal total was $32 billion, according to industry consultant Strategic Insight. Market demand. Miriam Sjoblom, a bond fund analyst with Morningstar, believes the funds may appeal to buyers of individual muni bonds who worry about current credit risks and decide to try a new approach. "For many, it's much easier to get broad diversification through a fund like this, than through the do-it-yourself approach," Sjoblom says. Novel, but not a first. Fidelity's products are believed to be the first muni bond mutual funds with fixed end dates. But they're not entirely new. Last year, iShares launched a series of muni bond exchange-traded funds with end dates ranging from 2012 to 2017. Published: Thu, Jun 30, 2011