At the same time Vanguard's New York Long-Term Tax-Exempt Fund, with an average duration of 6.8 years, offered a yield to maturity of 3.8%.

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Barnet Sherman is a director and the portfolio manager of the TIAA-CREF Tax-Exempt Bond Fund at TIAA-CREF.

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The Vanguard Long-Term Tax Exempt Fund today is yielding 4.8%, or about 4.6% after state taxes (depending on where you live).

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