Nuveen, the TIAA investment manager, has launched the Nuveen High Income Municipal SMA, the latest in its lineup of municipal high-yield investment vehicles available to wealth clients.
The new offering is part of Nuveen’s separately managed account platform. The company’s nearly $200 billion municipal platform offers mutual funds, closed-end funds, exchanged traded funds, SMAs, model portfolios, LPs, and an interval fund. The rollout follows the January launch of two actively managed municipal ETFs.
Guided by the company’s credit research team, the Nuveen High Income Municipal SMA invests in non-investment grade and investment grade tax-exempt bonds with the aim of generating higher levels of tax-free income that has not been widely available via the SMA wrapper. The portfolio allocates at least 40% to investment grade bonds and up to 60% in high income bonds.
“The current $1.6 trillion muni SMA market has been dominated largely by high grade strategies, with few offering true high yield exposure,” Daniel Close, Nuveen Head of Municipals, said in a news release. “Our High Income Municipal SMA offers the potential to generate attractive levels of income for investors seeking high tax-exempt yields with enhanced total return potential as well as the tax benefits of an SMA.”
Nuveen is among the largest municipal fund managers, with nearly 80 investment professionals averaging 22 years of experience. The firm’s specialized municipal credit research team is one of the largest and most experienced in the asset class and was named the no. 1 team in the 2024 Smith’s All-Star Municipal Analysts Awards.
