An assessment of the Nuveen Taxable Municipal Income Fund as an investment choice at its current market value reveals that after a strong performance since mid-2023, it may be wise to consider taking some profit. I am revising my outlook for the fund going forward due to challenges posed by rising interest rates and lack of action from the Federal Reserve. Additionally, the influx of investors into the sector in 2024 has diminished the contrarian opportunity I identified last year.
The Nuveen Taxable Municipal Income Fund has a lower current yield compared to other comparable closed-end fixed-income funds. The NBB closed-end fund's price performance has been worse than the ICE BofAML US Taxable Municipal Securities Index over the past five years. The NBB fund's use of leverage and exposure to states with strained finances pose risks for investors.
Nuveen Taxable Municipal Income Fund is currently undervalued with a discount to NAV of almost 9%. Taxable munis offer higher income compared to tax-exempt munis, making them attractive for investors in lower tax brackets. NBB has maintained its distribution in the short-term, providing reassurance to investors despite the challenges posed by the inverted yield curve.
NBB has had a pretty strong 2023 so far and is in positive territory since my last bullish review. The fund did see an income cut in January, which was not a great sign. Then this month, we were hit with another cut announcement. This makes me less bullish on the fund.