SEI TAX EXEMPT TRUST Form N-CSR/A Filed 2018-11-23
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION FORM N-CSR/A Certified annual shareholder report of registered management investment companies filed on Form N-CSR [amend] Filing Date: 2018-11-23 | Period of Report: 2018-08-31 SEC Accession No. 0001193125-18-332859 (HTML Version on secdatabase.com) FILER SEI TAX EXEMPT TRUST Mailing Address Business Address SEI INVESTMENTS SEI INVESTMENTS CIK:701817| IRS No.: 236741646 | State of Incorp.:MA | Fiscal Year End: 0831 1 FREEDOM VALLEY CIRCLE1 FREEDOM VALLEY CIRCLE Type: N-CSR/A | Act: 40 | File No.: 811-03447 | Film No.: 181199333 OAK PA 19456 OAK PA 19456 610 676-3097 Copyright © 2018 www.secdatabase.com. All Rights Reserved. Please Consider the Environment Before Printing This Document UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM N-CSR CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES Investment Company Act file number 811-03447 SEI Tax Exempt Trust (Exact name of registrant as specified in charter) SEI Investments One Freedom Valley Drive Oaks, PA 19456 (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code) Timothy D. Barto, Esq. SEI Investments One Freedom Valley Drive Oaks, PA 19456 (Name and address of agent for service) Registrants telephone number, including area code: 610-676-1000 Date of fiscal year end: August 31, 2018 Date of reporting period: August 31, 2018 Copyright © 2018 www.secdatabase.com. All Rights Reserved. Please Consider the Environment Before Printing This Document Item 1. Reports to Stockholders. Copyright © 2018 www.secdatabase.com. All Rights Reserved. Please Consider the Environment Before Printing This Document August 31, 2018 ANNUAL REPORT SEI Tax Exempt Trust Intermediate-Term Municipal Fund Short Duration Municipal Fund California Municipal Bond Fund Massachusetts Municipal Bond Fund New Jersey Municipal Bond Fund New York Municipal Bond Fund Pennsylvania Municipal Bond Fund Tax-Advantaged Income Fund Copyright © 2018 www.secdatabase.com. All Rights Reserved. Please Consider the Environment Before Printing This Document TABLE OF CONTENTS Letter to Shareholders 1 Managements Discussion and Analysis of Fund Performance 2 Schedule of Investments 18 Statements of Assets and Liabilities 106 Statements of Operations 108 Statements of Changes in Net Assets 110 Financial Highlights 113 Notes to Financial Statements 115 Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm 126 Trustees and Officers of the Trust 127 Disclosure of Fund Expenses 130 Board of Trustees Considerations in Approving the Advisory and Sub-Advisory Agreements 132 Notice to Shareholders 135 The Trust files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the first and third quarter of each fiscal year on Form N-Q within sixty days after the end of the period. The Trusts Forms N-Q are available on the Commissions website at http://www.sec.gov, and may be reviewed and copied at the Commissions Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling 1-800-SEC-0330. A description of the policies and procedures that the Trust uses to determine how to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities, as well as information relating to how a Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, is available (i) without charge, upon request, by calling 1-800-DIAL-SEI; and (ii) on the Commissions website at http://www.sec.gov. Copyright © 2018 www.secdatabase.com. All Rights Reserved. Please Consider the Environment Before Printing This Document LETTER TO SHAREHOLDERS August 31, 2018 (Unaudited) To our shareholders: The broad municipal bond (muni) market was marginally higher, according to the Bloomberg Barclays US Municipal Bond Index, during the Funds reporting periodSeptember 2017 through August 2018recovering from a selloff at the beginning of 2018 on concerns that recently passed tax reform would make the potential tax advantages offered by munis less attractive to investors. However, a limited supply of new capital issuance supported the municipal bond market over the remainder of the fiscal period. Financial market conditions later in the fiscal period reflected a continuation of trends, with continued strength in the labor markets and unemployment matching a 50-year low at 3.8%. Major central-bank policies diverged. Firming inflation and global growth gave the Federal Reserve (Fed) confidence to raise rates three times during the fiscal period, in December, March and June, while the European Central Bank held rates steady throughout the period, with short-term rates implying negative yields and a slower pace of normalization relative to the U.S. The Bank of Japan and Peoples Bank of China also continued their commitments to monetary accommodation during the reporting period. Muni-market sector performance trends continued, with revenue bonds (which tend to be riskier, as they are not supported by the issuing governments ability to levy taxes) outperforming prerefunded bonds, while general obligation bonds produced the lowest returns. Outside of municipals, qualified-dividend-income-eligible preferred stockswhich enjoy favorable tax treatment, but whose perpetual maturity makes the asset class even more sensitive to Fed rate movesunderperformed the muni market during the Funds fiscal year. Among state issuers, yields rose in California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. From a credit- quality perspective, lower-quality investment-grade bonds generally continued to outperform higher-quality investment- grade bonds. High-yield muni bonds led during the majority of the period, driven by stable oil prices, falling default rates and investors who continued to search for yield. Supply and demand factors remained favorable during the Funds recently completed reporting period. On the supply side, muni issuance decreased from the prior period on an average monthly basis. Tax reform that passed during the first half of the fiscal year pulled issuance forward as the municipal market lost the ability to issue bonds for advance refundings, which typically represent close to 20% of issuance; December was a record month for tax-exempt municipal issuance, leading to an issuance decline over the remainder of the period. On the demand side, demand for municipals remained strong, especially in high-tax states where the deduction cap made the tax exemption of municipals more attractive, placing the municipal market in a firm technical position. In December 2017, the Fed raised the target short-term rate, followed by two additional increases in March and June; as a result, Treasury rates moved higher on the front end of the curve. The Fed implied that conditions could warrant two additional increases later in 2018. AAA municipal bond yields rose more for shorter maturities than longer maturities, while the AAA municipal yield curve steepened relative to the Treasury curve. On behalf of SEI Investments, I want to thank you for your confidence in the SEI Tax Exempt Trust. We are dedicated to helping our investors reach their long-term objectives, and we look forward to serving your investment needs in the future. Sincerely, William Lawrence, CFA Managing Director, Portfolio Management Team SEI Tax Exempt Trust / Annual Report / August 31, 2018 1 Copyright © 2018 www.secdatabase.com. All Rights Reserved. Please Consider the Environment Before Printing This Document MANAGEMENTS DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FUND PERFORMANCE August 31, 2018 (Unaudited) Intermediate-Term Municipal Fund I. Objective projections enabled the revenue bond sector and lower- quality issues to outperform. The Intermediate-Term Municipal Fund (the Fund) seeks to provide the highest level of income exempt from federal The Funds slightly longer duration detracted during the income tax consistent with the preservation of capital. fiscal year, while a flattening yield-curve posture contributed. An overweight to BBB rated securities, which outperformed II. Investment Approach higher-quality bonds, enhanced relative returns. Consistent with the relative sector performance outlined in the The Fund uses a multi-manager approach, relying on a shareholder letter, an overweight to revenue bonds over GO number of sub-advisers with different investment bonds was additive, especially within hospitals and approaches to manage portions of the Fund under the transportation. general supervision of SEI Investments Management Corp. Both Standish and Macquarie were slightly long duration, (SIMC). The Fund utilized sub-advisors Delaware which detracted, while a flattening yield-curve bias added. Investment Fund Advisors, a series of Macquarie Overweights to BBB rated securities and revenue bonds Investment Management Business Trust and Standish against GO bonds enhanced performance. Mellon Asset Management Company LLC as of August 31, 2018. III. Returns For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2018, the Intermediate-Term Municipal Fund, Class F, returned -0.10%. The Funds BenchmarkBloomberg Barclays 3-15 Year Intermediate Municipal Blend Indexreturned 0.04%. IV. Performance Discussion For the second consecutive year, municipal yields moved higher over the course of the fiscal year. Short-term AAA municipal yields increased by a greater magnitude than long-term yields, as the Federal Reserve (Fed) raised rates three times during the fiscal year, and inflation expectations remained in a range. Relative to U.S. Treasury bonds, municipal bonds