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FARCZ - Franklin AZ Tax-Free Income A

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Franklin AZ Tax-Free Income A (FARCZ)
Expense Ratio: 0.62%
Expected Lifetime Fees: $19,207.62


The Franklin AZ Tax-Free Income A fund (FARCZ) is a Muni Single State Long fund started on 09/1/1987 and has $1.10 billion in assets under management. The current manager has been running Franklin AZ Tax-Free Income A since 05/21/1992. The fund is rated by Morningstar. In addition to trading fees and broker commissions, this fund has 12b-1 fees of 0.10%

MarketRiders Prefers The Following ETF

iShares S&P National Municipal Bond (MUB)
Expense Ratio: 0.25%
Expected Lifetime Fees: $8,051.41


The iShares S&P National Municipal Bond (MUB) is an Exchange Traded Fund. It is a "basket" of securities that index the Muni Single State Long investment strategy and is an alternative to a Muni Single State Long mutual fund. Fees are very low compared to a comparable mutual fund like Franklin AZ Tax-Free Income A because computers automatically manage the stocks.




The Following Muni Single State Long Funds Have Lower Fees Than Franklin AZ Tax-Free Income A (FARCZ). Why are these metrics important?
Mutual Fund Name Ticker Symbol Turnover Assets (M) Annual Fees
Fidelity Arizona Municipal Income FSAZX 10.0% 175 0.55%
Franklin Arizona Tax-Free Income Fund Advisor Class FAZZX 13.2% 1,100 0.52%
Franklin Missouri Tax Free Income Fund Advisor Class FRMZX 13.1% 1,300 0.54%
Franklin North Carolina Tax-Free Income Fund Advisor Class FNCZX 6.1% 1,400 0.53%
Franklin Oregon Tax Free Income Fund Advisor Class FOFZX 12.5% 1,400 0.53%
Northern AZ Tax-Exempt NOAZX 50.5% 115 0.45%
Nuveen NC Municipal Bond I FCNRX 5.0% 438 0.59%
Nuveen TN Municipal Bond I FTNRX 19.0% 457 0.61%
Nuveen VA Municipal Bond I NMVAX 8.0% 426 0.61%
T. Rowe Price GA Tax-Free Bond GTFBX 13.4% 216 0.55%
T. Rowe Price MD Tax-Free Bond MDXBX 12.5% 2,000 0.46%
T. Rowe Price VA Tax-Free Bond PRVAX 12.6% 949 0.48%
Tax-Free Trust of OR Y ORTYX 15.0% 519 0.61%
Vanguard FL Focused L/T Tax-Exempt Adm VFLRX 30.0% 949 0.12%
Vanguard FL Focused L/T Tax-Exempt Inv VFLTX 30.0% 949 0.20%
Wells Fargo Advantage CO Tax-Free Adm NCOTX 22.0% 100 0.60%
Wells Fargo Advantage NC Tax-Free I ENCYX 44.0% 142 0.54%



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Why Are These Metrics Important?


Turnover
Turnover represents how much of a mutual fund's holdings are changed over the course of a year through buying and selling. Active mutual funds have an average turnover rate of about 85%, meaning that funds are turning over nearly all of their holdings every year. A high turnover means you could make lower returns because: 1) buying and selling stocks costs money through commissions and spreads and 2) the fund will distribute yearly capital gains which increases your taxes. Look for funds with turnover rates below 50%. For comparison, ETF turnover rates average around 10% or lower.

Assets
Generally, smaller funds do better than larger ones. The more assets in a mutual fund, the lower the chance that it will beat its index. Managers outperform an index by choosing stocks that are undervalued. In order to find these undervalued stocks, the manager has to know more than his competitors to develop an "edge." There are only a finite number of stocks a mutual fund manager can reasonably analyze and actively track to gain such a competitive edge. When the fund has more assets, the manager must analyze large companies because he needs to take larger positions. Large companies are more efficiently priced in the market and it becomes increasingly difficult to get an edge.