Think munis

Barron’s Best Funds Families ranks Macquarie Asset Management #1 in tax-exempt bonds category

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The ranking looks at one-year relative performance of fund firms that offer a diversified lineup of actively managed mutual funds and ETFs. The ranking eliminates index funds. Results are based on firms’ skill in active management. Ranking calculates returns before any 12b-1 fees are deducted. Similarly, fund loads, or sales charges are not included in the return calculations. 49 asset managers were included in Barron’s one-year ranking list for the year ending December 31, 2023. This ranking is not based on total return. The ranking is the opinion of Barron’s and not Macquarie Group. No such person creating the ranking is affiliated with Macquarie Group. There can be no assurances that other providers or surveys would reach the same conclusions as this ranking.
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At Delaware Funds by Macquarie, our objective is not only to select good credits but to avoid the bad ones.

The combination of our experienced, dedicated team and consistent process has led to strong long-term performance results.

Why munis?

Exploring investment opportunities in municipal bonds may make sense for today’s income investors, not just those in the highest tax brackets.

Taxable-equivalent yield on a municipal bond vs. taxable alternatives

40.8% tax bracket

* Taxable equivalent yield. The top Federal Income Tax Bracket of 37% plus 3.8% Medicare tax were used to calculate the taxable equivalent yield of the bond. The blue bar represents the difference between the yield of the bond (green bar) and the taxable equivalent yield.

Source: Municipal Market Data (MMD)/Bloomberg, as of December 31, 2023.

Chart is for illustrative purposes only.

Default rates by municipal bond issuers have remained remarkably low over the years.

Moody’s-rated debt only (1970-2022)

Cumulative default rates, average over the period of 1970-2022, over
10-year time horizons

	Municipal-rated debt	Corporate-rated debt
AAA	0.00%	0.34%
AA	0.02%	0.75%
A	0.10%	1.90%
BBB	1.05%	3.64%
Below investment grade	6.84%	29.81%

Source: Moody’s Investors Service, US Municipal Bond Defaults and Recoveries 1970-2022. Most recent data available.

Over the past five years, municipals have outperformed other fixed income asset classes with lower inherent risk. The below-investment-grade category, or high yield, has been the strongest-performing asset class in fixed income, and has done so with lower risk.

Learn more

Municipals have outperformed other fixed income asset classes

Outperforming fixed income with lower risk

Source: Morningstar Direct, 5 years in December 31, 2023.

Taxable-equivalent returns assume a 37% tax bracket and 3.8% Medicare tax.

Chart is for illustrative purposes only.

Fixed income asset classes are represented by the following indices: High yield municipal – Bloomberg High-Yield Municipal Bond Index; Municipal – Bloomberg Municipal Bond Index; Taxable municipal – Bloomberg Taxable Municipal Bond Index; US corporate high yield – Bloomberg US Corporate High-Yield Index; US corporate investment grade (IG) – Bloomberg US Corporate Investment Grade Index; Eurodollar – Bloomberg Eurodollar Index; ABS – Bloomberg Asset-Backed Securities (ABS) Index; US Aggregate Bond – Bloomberg US Aggregate Index; US Agency – Bloomberg US Agency Index; US Treasury bills – Bloomberg US Treasury Bills Index; US Treasurys – Bloomberg US Treasury Index; US MBS – Bloomberg US Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS) Index.

Index definitions

More musings on munis

October 25, 2024

Capturing the “high yield” opportunity

With elevated yields across high yield bonds, the return proposition may be a compelling consideration for investors.

Learn more

July 03, 2024

Brave new fiscal world?

Are we really in a brave new “fiscal” world? Or are there realities that will test this very persuasive thematic?

Learn more

Why Delaware Funds by Macquarie for municipal bonds?

Yield focus

Credit analysis is the cornerstone of our selective, bottom-up process in which credit research drives alpha in plus sectors.

Proprietary process

Our proprietary CREDIT process checklist ensures a disciplined and repeatable process to select credits while mitigating risks.

Responsible risk

The team’s risk management approach is critical to the goal of delivering strong results over the long term.

Learn more

Municipal bond solutions from Delaware Funds by Macquarie

National municipal bond funds

	Delaware National High-Yield Municipal Bond Fund (DVHIX)	Delaware Tax-Free USA Fund (DTFIX)	Delaware Tax-Free USA Intermediate Fund (DUSIX)
Overall Morningstar Rating™
Morningstar category	High-Yield Muni	Muni National Long	Muni National Intermediate
Total net assets as of 12/31/23, all share classes	$2.9 billion	$1.1 billion	$1.2 billion
Modified duration	11.13 years	12.04 years	6.86 years
SEC 30-day yield* with waiver (Institutional Class)	4.82%	3.80%	4.17%
Distribution yield**	4.95%	4.38%	3.45%
Fund performance	Learn more	Learn more	Learn more

Source: Morningstar. Data as of 12/31/23 unless otherwise noted. Morningstar ranking is based on Morningstar risk-adjusted return measure that accounts for variation in a managed product's monthly excess performance. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

** The distribution yield for monthly paying Funds is calculated by annualizing actual dividends distributed for the monthly period ended on the date shown and dividing by the net asset value on the last business day for the same period. The yield does not include long- or short-term capital gains distributions.

State-specific municipal bond funds

Note: click or tap on each button below to learn more about each state fund.

Delaware Tax-Free Arizona Fund (DAZIX)

4.05%

SEC 30-day yield* with waiver (Institutional Class)

3.74%

Distribution yield

Overall Morningstar Rating^TM (Institutional Class shares - as of 12/31/23)

View the Fund's standardized performance

Delaware Tax-Free California Fund (DCTIX)

3.91%

SEC 30-day yield* with waiver (Institutional Class)

3.89%

Distribution yield

Overall Morningstar Rating^TM (Institutional Class shares - as of 12/31/23)

View the Fund's standardized performance

Delaware Tax-Free Colorado Fund (DCOIX)

3.89%

SEC 30-day yield* with waiver (Institutional Class)

3.83%

Distribution yield

Overall Morningstar Rating^TM (Institutional Class shares - as of 12/31/23)

View the Fund's standardized performance

Delaware Tax-Free Idaho Fund (DTIDX)

3.81%

SEC 30-day yield* with waiver (Institutional Class)

3.62%

Distribution yield

Overall Morningstar Rating^TM (Institutional Class shares - as of 12/31/23)

View the Fund's standardized performance

Delaware Tax-Free Minnesota Intermediate Fund (DMIIX)

3.34%

SEC 30-day yield* with waiver (Institutional Class)

3.37%

Distribution yield

Overall Morningstar Rating^TM (Institutional Class shares - as of 12/31/23)

View the Fund's standardized performance

Delaware Tax-Free Minnesota Fund (DMNIX)

3.65%

SEC 30-day yield* with waiver (Institutional Class)

3.58%

Distribution yield

Overall Morningstar Rating^TM (Institutional Class shares - as of 12/31/23)

View the Fund's standardized performance

Delaware Minnesota High-Yield Municipal Bond Fund (DMHIX)

4.09%

SEC 30-day yield* with waiver (Institutional Class)

3.91%

Distribution yield

Overall Morningstar Rating^TM (Institutional Class shares - as of 12/31/23)

View the Fund's standardized performance

Delaware Tax-Free New York Fund (DTNIX)

3.88%

SEC 30-day yield* with waiver (Institutional Class)

3.87%

Distribution yield

Overall Morningstar Rating^TM (Institutional Class shares - as of 12/31/23)

View the Fund's standardized performance

Delaware Tax-Free Oregon Fund (FTOTX)

3.34%

SEC 30-day yield* with waiver (Institutional Class)

3.60%

Distribution yield

Overall Morningstar Rating^TM (Institutional Class shares - as of 12/31/23)

View the Fund's standardized performance

Delaware Tax-Free Pennsylvania Fund (DTPIX)

4.12%

SEC 30-day yield* with waiver (Institutional Class)

4.25%

Distribution yield

Overall Morningstar Rating^TM (Institutional Class shares - as of 12/31/23)

View the Fund's standardized performance

The performance quoted represents past performance and does not guarantee future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted. Performance data for all share classes current to the most recent month end may be obtained by delawarefunds.com/performance or calling 800 877 693-3546. Investors should read the prospectus and the summary prospectus carefully before investing.

DAZIX rated 3, 4, and 4 stars for the 3-, 5-, and 10-year periods ended 12/31/2023 among 167, 167, and 104 funds, respectively, and 4 stars out of 167 funds in the overall rating. DCTIX rated 5, 5, and 4 stars for the 3-, 5-, and 10-year periods ended 12/31/2023 among 102, 96, and 76 funds, respectively, and 5 stars out of 102 funds in the overall rating. DCOIX rated 5, 5, and 5 stars for the 3-, 5-, and 10-year periods ended 12/31/2023 among 167, 167, and 104 funds, respectively, and 5 stars out of 167 funds in the overall rating. DTIDX rated 4, 5, and 4 stars for the 3-, 5-, and 10-year periods ended 12/31/2023 among 167, 167, and 104 funds, respectively, and 4 stars out of 167 funds in the overall rating. DMIIX rated 4, 4, and 3 stars for the 3-, 5-, and 10-year periods ended 12/31/2023 among 43, 43, and 35 funds, respectively, and 4 stars out of 43 funds in the overall rating. DMNIX rated 4, 4, and 5 stars for the 3-, 5-, and 10-year periods ended 12/31/2023 among 43, 43, and 35 funds, respectively, and 5 stars out of 35 funds in the overall rating. DMHIX rated 5, 5, and 5 stars for the 3-, 5-, and 10-year periods ended 12/31/2023 among 43, 43, and 35 funds, respectively, and 5 stars out of 43 funds in the overall rating. FTOTX rated 5, 5, and 4 stars for the 3-, 5-, and 10-year periods ended 12/31/2023 among 167, 167, and 104 funds, respectively, and 5 stars out of 167 funds in the overall rating. DTNIX rated 5, 5, and 4 stars for the 3-, 5-, and 10-year periods ended 12/31/2023 among 81, 75, and 63 funds, respectively, and 5 stars out of 81 funds in the overall rating. DTPIX rated 5, 5, and 5 stars for the 3-, 5-, and 10-year periods ended 12/31/2023 among 50, 48, and 40 funds, respectively, and 5 stars out of 50 funds in the overall rating.

Morningstar fund data for all time periods shown are as of the above indicated date. Although a Fund may outperform peers when compared to its Morningstar peer group, the returns for that period may still be negative. Rankings shown are provided by Morningstar. Rankings and performance for other time periods are available from Morningstar.

* 30-Day SEC yield is shown with waivers. The 30-day SEC yields without waivers are 3.92% for DMHIX, 3.68% for DAZIX, 3.73% for DCTIX, 3.69% for DCOIX, 3.59% for DTIDX, 4.79% for DMNIX, 2.94% for DMIIX 3.69% for DTNIX, 3.13% for FTOTX, and 3.99% for DTPIX.

The performance quoted represents past performance and does not guarantee future results.

12-month distribution rate reflects the fund’s past dividends paid to shareholders. It is calculated monthly by taking the sum of the trailing 12-month dividend payments divided by the last month's ending share price plus any capital gains distributed over the previous 12 months.

For financial professional use only. Not for use with the general public.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Average annual total returns (%) as of December 31, 2023

Fund	1 year	3 year	5 year	10 year	Inception date	Gross exp. ratio	Net exp. ratio**	Expense waiver date
Delaware National High-Yield Municipal Bond Fund (Institutional Class)	8.96	0.20	3.34	4.85	12/31/08	0.63	0.60	12/29/23
Delaware Tax-Free USA Fund (Institutional Class)	11.36	-0.44	3.04	3.67	12/31/08	0.70	0.55	12/29/23
Delaware Tax-Free USA Intermediate Fund (Institutional Class)	7.97	-0.59	2.24	2.60	12/31/08	0.63	0.50	12/29/23

The performance quoted represents past performance and does not guarantee future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted. Performance data for all share classes current to the most recent month end may be obtained by calling 877 693-3546 or visiting delawarefunds.com/performance.

Total returns may reflect waivers and/or expense reimbursements by the manager and/or distributor for some or all periods shown. Performance would have been lower without such waivers and reimbursements.

**Net expense ratio reflects a contractual waiver of certain fees and/or expense reimbursements through the date shown. Please see the fee table in each Fund’s prospectus for more information.

© 2024 Morningstar. All Rights Reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The Morningstar RatingTM for funds, or "star rating", is calculated for managed products (including mutual funds, variable annuity and variable life subaccounts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, and separate accounts) with at least a three-year history. Exchange-traded funds and open-ended mutual funds are considered a single population for comparative purposes. It is calculated based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a managed product's monthly excess performance, placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The top 10% of products in each product category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars, and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. The Overall Morningstar Rating for a managed product is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five-, and 10-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. The weights are: 100% three-year rating for 36-59 months of total returns, 60% five-year rating/40% three-year rating for 60-119 months of total returns, and 50% 10-year rating/30% five-year rating/20% three-year rating for 120 or more months of total returns. While the 10-year overall star rating formula seems to give the most weight to the 10-year period, the most recent three-year period actually has the greatest impact because it is included in all three rating periods. Morningstar Rating is for the Class(es) indicated; other classes may have different performance characteristics

Carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risk factors, charges, and expenses before investing. This and other information can be found in the Fund’s prospectus and its summary prospectus, which may be obtained by visiting delawarefunds.com/literature, or calling 877 693-3546. Investors should read the prospectus and the summary prospectus carefully before investing.

Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal.

Diversification may not protect against market risk. • Fixed income securities and bond funds can lose value, and investors can lose principal, as interest rates rise. They also may be affected by economic conditions that hinder an issuer’s ability to make interest and principal payments on its debt. The Fund may also be subject to prepayment risk, the risk that the principal of a bond that is held by a portfolio will be prepaid prior to maturity, at the time when interest rates are lower than what the bond was paying. A portfolio may then have to reinvest that money at a lower interest rate. • High yielding, non-investment-grade bonds (junk bonds) involve higher risk than investment grade bonds. •Substantially all dividend income derived from tax-free funds is exempt from federal income tax. Some income may be subject to state and local taxes and/ or the federal alternative minimum tax (AMT) that applies to certain investors. Capital gains, if any, are taxable. • Duration number will change as market conditions change. Therefore, duration should not be solely relied upon to indicate a municipal bond fund’s potential volatility. • IBOR risk is the risk that changes related to the use of the London interbank offered rate (LIBOR) or similar rates (such as EONIA) could have adverse impacts on financial instruments that reference these rates. The abandonment of these rates could affect the value and liquidity of instruments that reference them and could affect investment strategy performance. • The disruptions caused by natural disasters, pandemics, or similar events could prevent the Fund from executing advantageous investment decisions in a timely manner and could negatively impact the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objective and the value of the Fund’s investments. Indices are unmanaged and one cannot invest directly in an index.

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Think munis. Think Delaware Funds by Macquarie^®.

Barron’s Best Funds Families ranks Macquarie Asset Management #1 in tax-exempt bonds category

Why munis?