Bond ETF Portfolio Shifts
Abound Financial LLC Reduces FLMI Stake While Increasing Other Bond ETF Investments
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Key Points
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Abound Financial LLC trimmed its Franklin Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF (FLMI) position by 19.9% in Q4, selling 20,342 shares and ending with 81,880 shares worth about $2.036 million.
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FLMI is an actively managed municipal bond ETF whose portfolio manager targets a dollar-weighted average maturity of three to ten years; it invests in municipal bonds of any credit quality and is managed by Franklin Templeton (launched Aug. 31, 2017).
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Abound also entered the iShares National Muni Bond ETF (MUB) in Q4, buying 12,529 shares valued at approximately $1.342 million.
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Gould Asset Management LLC CA added iShares iBonds Dec 2028 Term Treasury ETF (IBTI), purchasing 94,005 shares valued at about $2.102 million; the filing indicates it owned roughly 0.14% of IBTI after the move.
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In VCSH, Abound bought 33,078 shares valued at approximately $2.637 million; the article notes VCSH was about 0.6% of Abound’s holdings and its 28th-largest position, while Gould Asset Management LLC CA simultaneously increased VCSH by 10.9% to 246,337 shares (about $19.64 million).
Abound Financial LLC sold 20,342 shares of the Franklin Dynamic Municipal Bond ETF (FLMI) in Q4 2025, cutting its stake by 19.9% and leaving it with 81,880 shares worth about $2.04 million, according to SEC Filings. The move signals a deliberate pivot away from active municipal bond management toward cheaper, index-tracking alternatives.
At the same time, Abound bought into three other bond ETFs — iShares National Muni Bond ETF (MUB), Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF (VTEB), and Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF (VCSH) — while fellow institutional manager Gould Asset Management LLC CA made a sizable bet on Treasury bonds.
Abound Swaps Active Muni Fund for Passive Alternatives
FLMI is an actively managed municipal bond ETF run by Franklin Templeton. It targets bonds with an average maturity of three to ten years and buys across all credit qualities. Franklin Templeton launched it on August 31, 2017, according to Franklin Templeton.
Abound replaced much of that active exposure with passive index funds. It bought 12,529 shares of MUB for about $1.34 million and 10,425 shares of VTEB for roughly $524,000, per SEC Filings. Both MUB and VTEB track broad national municipal bond indexes at a fraction of the cost of active funds. Analysts at Seeking Alpha note that FLMI's active management premium is increasingly being questioned by cost-conscious institutions.
Short-Term Corporate Bonds Draw Both Firms Simultaneously
Abound also entered the Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF (VCSH), buying 33,078 shares for about $2.64 million. That made VCSH roughly 0.6% of Abound's total portfolio and its 28th-largest position, according to SEC Filings.
Gould Asset Management moved in the same direction. It increased its VCSH holding by 10.9%, bringing its total to 246,337 shares worth about $19.64 million, per Stockzoa. Both firms moving into short-term corporate bonds at the same time points to a shared view: lock in today's attractive yields while keeping duration risk low.
Gould Bets on Treasury ETF With a Fixed End Date
Gould Asset Management took a different approach on the Treasury side. It bought 94,005 shares of the iShares iBonds Dec 2028 Term Treasury ETF (IBTI) for about $2.10 million, giving it roughly 0.14% of the fund's outstanding shares, according to SEC Filings.
IBTI is a "defined-maturity" ETF. That means it holds Treasuries that all mature in December 2028, then returns cash to investors — like owning a bond with a known end date. This structure gives Gould predictable liquidity at a specific point in time. With 10-year Treasury yields at 4.32% and 30-year yields at 4.91% in Q1 2026, per Franklin Templeton, the appeal of locking in those rates is clear.
Active vs. Passive Debate Reshapes Institutional Muni Strategies
The moves by Abound and Gould reflect a broader shift in how institutions handle municipal bonds. Municipal ETFs have pulled in $25 billion in inflows so far in 2026, according to Bloomberg. Institutions are still drawn to munis for their tax advantages, but they are choosing cheaper index products over active managers.
Franklin Templeton is also making changes inside FLMI itself. A new portfolio manager, Mr. Risser, took over the fund in June 2026, bringing experience from Putnam Investment Management, per fund filings reported by SEC Filings. Whether the new leadership can win back institutional confidence — and assets — remains to be seen.
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