Investors’ search for yield has helped New York-based Van Eck Global’s range of municipal bond ETFs pass the $1 billion mark in combined assets under management.

Van Eck's municipal bond ETFs surpass $1bn in AUM.

Also known as “munis”, municipal bonds are debt securities issued by a state, municipality or county to finance its capital expenditures. They may be issued to fund expenditures such as the construction of highways, bridges or schools, and are typically exempt from federal taxes.

“Municipal bonds have emerged into the spotlight after long being one of the quieter corners of the investment landscape, and investors and advisers are seeing their current attractiveness as well as the potential benefits offered by investing through ETFs such as those in our Market Vectors suite,” said Jim Colby, portfolio manager and senior municipal strategist with Van Eck Global.

“Historically low yields on Treasuries have made the search for yield far more difficult than it’s been in quite some time. In this environment, we’re pleased to offer a range of funds that span the risk/return spectrum, providing a number of choices for income-focused investors as they build their portfolios,” added Colby.

Colby noted that the growth experienced by Market Vectors’ municipal bond ETFs came even as the muni marketplace was faced with high-profile prognostications of doom at the start of 2011. “Thankfully, the massive wave of defaults that some had predicted did not come to pass. In fact, defaults remained at or below historical norms throughout the year.”

Since launching its first municipal bond ETF in late 2007, Van Eck has steadily added to its roster. The firm’s family of muni-income oriented ETFs now includes:

Market Vectors High-Yield Municipal Index ETF (HYD): tracks an index that focuses on the non-investment grade portion of the municipal bond market

Market Vectors Long Municipal Index ETF (MLN): tracks an index that focuses on long-duration bonds with a nominal maturity of 17 years or more.

Market Vectors Intermediate Municipal Index ETF (ITM): the first muni ETF launched by Van Eck, in December of 2007, this fund tracks an index that focuses on medium-duration bonds with a nominal maturity of 6 to 17 years.

Market Vectors Short Municipal Index ETF (SMB): tracks an index that focuses on short-duration bonds with a nominal maturity of 1-6 years.

Market Vectors Pre-Refunded Municipal Index ETF (PRB): tracks an index that focuses on pre-refunded and escrowed-to-maturity municipal securities, meaning the debt obligations are directly issued of unconditionally guaranteed by the US government

Market Vectors CEF Municipal Income ETF (XMPT): the first and only US listed ETF designed to track an index that provides exposure to a basket of municipal bond-focused closed-end funds