And in this era of deleveraging, that could be a problem.
As for muni-bond funds performance, Morningstar reports that its muni national long category is down 6.81% as of Thursday. In comparison, the long government bond fund average was up 0.04%. Intermediate muni funds were down 2.15% versus a 1.01% gain for government bond funds, and short-term munis were up 0.82% versus a 2.53% gain for governments. "That's because of the rush to quality," says Morningstar fixed-income analyst Eric Jacobson.
But meanwhile, the muni-bond funds are paying sizable yields.