No Load Funds

• Virginia municipal debt investments offer certain tax exemptions for state residents
• Municipal debt investments can be very beneficial to investors in high income tax brackets
• Municipal debt funds vary in maturity times and acceptable risk levels

Virginia municipal debt should be considered as an investment for any investor who resides in the state, and there are several reasons for this. Municipal debt funds can offer unique income tax exemptions on two or possibly three levels, and the funding raised by the issuing municipality is used to benefit the public and improve the municipality. This makes investing in municipal bond debt a win win situation. The municipality wins because needed revenue is raised, and the investor has a quality investment that offers tax benefits and an improved municipality. The best no load funds when it comes to Virginia municipal debt are those that offer operating expense ratios which are point five zero or less, and that do not include any 12b-1 marketing fees, no matter how small these fees may seem. There are a number of these municipal bond debt funds available to Virginia residents, both individual investors with various investment amounts and institutions with much larger amounts to put into municipal debt.

One Virginia municipal debt fund that many consider among the best no load funds in this state is the Columbia VA Interm Muni Bond Z, with the symbol NVABX. Offered by the Columbia family, this fund invests in intermediate Virginia municipal debt of high investment quality. The fund was opened in 1989, and has accumulated net assets worth more than two hundred and seventy million dollars. The minimum initial investment amount is low at twenty five hundred dollars, and the operating expense ratio for this fund is one half of one percent. Morningstar rates this fund as four out of five stars. Another fund considered to be one of the best no load funds is the American Funds Tax-Exempt Fund VA R-5 with a ticker symbol of RTVFX. This fund is only rated three stars, but the expense ratio is only point three nine percent. The net assets for this fund are slightly over one million dollars, making it quite small, but many experts list this fund as one of the top ten Virginia municipal debt funds for residents. The fund is managed by Brenda S. Ellerin, and was started in July of 2002. The fund does not list any initial investment amount, but it is well worth considering for any investor in Virginia interested in municipal debt.

One of the best no load funds concerning Virginia municipal debt for institutions is the BB&T VA Intermediate Tax-Free I, which has the symbol BVATX. This fund may be somewhat small for some investors, with net assets of only slightly more than seventy two million dollars, but the five star Morningstar rating shows that this fund is one that needs to be looked at. The initial investment amount is quite high, at one and a half million dollars, but the operating expense ratio of the fund is point six four percent and there are no load or marketing fees charged by the fund. No matter what Virginia municipal no load municipal debt funds are chosen, making sure that all of the proper research and comparisons are done is important. This is especially true with no load funds, which do not offer investment advice. Most investors are more than capable of comparing funds and risks, and making investment decisions. This means that load fees are not necessary and are just added investment expenses, and this can bring down the investment returns seen by load municipal debt funds. Look at the quality of the municipal debt that each fund invests in, and do not choose funds which invest in municipal debt that is not investment grade unless the risk of large losses is acceptable.