Logo



LTCAX - Thornburg CA Limited-Term Muni A

Don't let mutual funds siphon away your returns.
Get our FREE Report: "Index Funds and ETFs – A Smarter Way To Invest"
Your Mutual Fund

Thornburg CA Limited-Term Muni A (LTCAX)
Expense Ratio: 0.96%
Expected Lifetime Fees: $28,705.89


The Thornburg CA Limited-Term Muni A fund (LTCAX) is a Muni Single State Short fund started on 02/20/1987 and has $352.40 million in assets under management. The current manager has been running Thornburg CA Limited-Term Muni A since 02/22/2011. The fund is rated by Morningstar. In addition to trading fees and broker commissions, this fund has 12b-1 fees of 0.25%

MarketRiders Prefers The Following ETF

SPDR Barclays Capital Short Term Muni Bd (SHM)
Expense Ratio: 0.20%
Expected Lifetime Fees: $6,475.12


The SPDR Barclays Capital Short Term Muni Bd (SHM) is an Exchange Traded Fund. It is a "basket" of securities that index the Muni Single State Short investment strategy and is an alternative to a Muni Single State Short mutual fund. Fees are very low compared to a comparable mutual fund like Thornburg CA Limited-Term Muni A because computers automatically manage the stocks.




The Following Muni Single State Short Funds Have Lower Fees Than Thornburg CA Limited-Term Muni A (LTCAX). Why are these metrics important?
Mutual Fund Name Ticker Symbol Turnover Assets (M) Annual Fees
AllianceBern Interm CA Muni A AICAX 14.0% 1,100 0.88%
AllianceBern Interm NY Muni A ANIAX 14.0% 1,800 0.84%
Brown Advisory Maryland Bond Fund Class Institutional BIAMX 29.0% 253 0.52%
DFA CA Short-Term Municipal Bond I DFCMX 15.0% 370 0.23%
Fidelity CA S/I Tax-Free Bond FCSTX 12.0% 787 0.35%
PIMCO CA Sh Dur Municipal Income A PCDTZ 19.0% 261 0.73%
PIMCO CA Sh Dur Municipal Income D PCDDX 19.0% 261 0.73%
PIMCO CA Sh Dur Municipal Income Instl PCDIX 19.0% 261 0.33%
T. Rowe Price MD Short-Term Tax-Free PRMDX 69.4% 226 0.52%
Thornburg CA Limited-Term Muni Instl LTCIX 13.3% 352 0.63%
Wells Fargo Advantage CA Ltd-Term T/F A SFCIX 54.0% 452 0.80%
Wells Fargo Advantage CA Ltd-Term T/F Ad SCTIX 54.0% 452 0.60%



Search for a mutual fund by symbol or name:

x
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.