Blackrock MuniAssets Fund Inc
Find Ratings Reports- Last Ratings Update:02/29/2024
- Price as of 02/29/2024 :$11.08
- Net Assets:$436.2 Million
- NAV:$11.49
- Premium-3.57%
- Peer Rank:97 of 116
- Investment Rating:D
- Performance:D+
- RiskC
We rate BlackRock MuniAssets Fund at D. Negative factors that influence this rating include a high expense structure. The fund invests approximately 98% of its assets in bonds and may be considered for investors seeking a Municipal - National strategy.
Total return ranks well below peers over the last three years. The BlackRock MuniAssets Fund has returned an annual rate of 5.46% since inception. More recently, the fund has generated a total return of -3.58% in the last three years, 12.93% in the last year, and 17.53% in the last six months. How does that compare to other equity funds? In the last three years, it has outperformed 18% of them. It has also outpaced 78% of its competitors on a one year basis for the period ending 2/29/2024. On a year to date basis, MUA has returned 5.59%.
Downside risk has been above average. MUA has a draw down risk of -48.10%, which is the largest price decline experienced over the last three years. This fund has a three year standard deviation of 22.5%. This fund has experienced a high level of volatility in its monthly performance over the last 36 months.
High expense ratio hinders performance. On total assets of $436.20 million, MUA maintains a high expense ratio compared to its Municipal - National peers of 2.57% to cover all operating costs. Brokerage costs for the fund to buy and sell shares are not included in the expense ratio. As MUA is a closed end fund, it has no front end or back end load.
Manager tenure and performance record are net positives. Substandard fund managers tend to be replaced, so a long tenure is usually a good sign that a fund is achieving its objectives. The BlackRock MuniAssets Fund has been managed by Walter O'Connor for the last 18 years. Over that period, the manager was able to capture more actual gains in excess of the expected return than 79% of other fund managers.