Ben Barber of Franklin Templeton Fixed Income shares his views on the significant changes within the municipal bond market over the last 30 years. He also covers some misconceptions about the muni environment, new investment vehicles, and potential areas of opportunity for investors.
Franklin is one of the largest muni bond managers in the US, and has been managing tax-free income strategies for over 40 years. We have the scale, resources and experience navigating multiple market cycles to identify and potentially benefit from opportunities created by inefficiencies in the marketplace.
Our active, research-driven approach is critical given the vast size and complexity of the municipal bond market.
Our deep team of research analysts conduct comprehensive analysis of every opportunity across all sectors in the municipal bond universe, covering the quality spectrum in both primary and secondary markets.
We seek to identify and capture relative value opportunities across the entire muni bond landscape by carefully analyzing and managing yield curve positioning, credit spreads, coupon and call structures.
We strive to deliver tax-efficient portfolios, while aiming to provide attractive risk-adjusted returns.
The team places a premium on risk management which is incorporated fully within our deep credit research and portfolio construction processes.
Having an independent risk management team enables us to better understand, quantify and optimize where we allocate risk across our portfolios.
14 portfolio managers with an average of 27 years of industry experience
12 research analysts with an average of 20 years of industry experience
1 quantitative and portfolio construction analyst with 19 years of industry experience
Director of Municipal Bonds
Director of Research - Municipal Bonds
Head of Municipal Bond SMA Strategies
Head of Municipal Bond Funds Portfolio Management
VP/Head of Portfolio Construction and Risk
To make sense of today's complex muni market, we rely on the collective brainpower of over 31 dedicated municipal bond investment professionals. Their deep expertise powers our 40+ muni bond mutual funds, ETFs and SMAs.
Please click on drop down to see strategies available for each state.
Laddered Strategies are also offered as tax-managed. Estimate income and optimize strategies with the Municipal Bond Ladder Calculator.
Franklin Templeton now has the most comprehensive active ETF lineup in the industry, offering 12 actively managed municipal bond ETFs across key national and state-specific categories.
