WisdomTree Appeals to Retail Investors With Two Muni ETFs

WisdomTree Inc. is launching its first municipal-bond exchange traded funds that will seize on an investing approach that’s popular among retail investors known as bond laddering.

The $116 billion money manager is wading into the $144 billion muni ETF space with the WisdomTree Core Laddered Municipal Fund (WTMU) and the WisdomTree High Income Laddered Municipal Fund (WTMY).

With bond laddering, investors buy bonds with various maturities — as the shorter-term debt matures, the proceeds are reinvested into the longer-term debt. The exposure to shorter-term debt provides a buffer in case interest rates rise.

“It’s a strategy and an approach that ...