MFS Municipal Income SEC Filings

MFS Municipal Income Trust (MFM) is a closed-end fund seeking high current income exempt from U.S. federal income tax, primarily by investing in municipal bonds. For the twelve months ended October 31, 2025, the fund returned 2.82% based on net asset value and 1.64% based on market price, compared with 4.17% for the Bloomberg Municipal Bond Index.

The portfolio is concentrated in revenue-backed sectors such as hospital healthcare (21.7%), long-term care (16.3%), airports (14.9%), and education-related issuers. Credit exposure is mainly investment grade, with notable allocations to A and BBB bonds, alongside a meaningful Not Rated segment. The fund employs leverage through remarketable variable rate munifund term preferred shares and self-deposited inverse floaters, which magnify gains and losses; an illustrative table shows that a 10% portfolio return would translate to a 12.64% return to common shareholders, while a -10% portfolio return would translate to -16.54%.

The report details an average duration of 12.6 and average effective maturity of 20.9 years, underscoring sensitivity to interest rate moves. It also outlines extensive risk factors, including debt market, interest rate, credit, municipal, liquidity, leverage, and derivatives risks. Management notes that longer duration positioning and the use of leverage aided results, while bond selection in AA and A rated securities and exposure to Not Rated bonds detracted. Michael Dawson and Jason Kosty serve as portfolio managers, and Geoffrey Schechter stepped down as a portfolio manager effective September 30, 2025.

MFS Municipal Income Trust and abrdn National Municipal Income Fund are part of a planned transfer of closed-end fund management to Aberdeen Investments. Aberdeen has agreed with MFS to acquire the management of closed-end fund assets totalling £1.5bn through a series of mergers and reorganisations. Nine MFS funds and one existing Aberdeen fund are expected to be consolidated into two larger closed-end funds, which are intended to benefit from greater scale and liquidity.

The transaction is described as income accretive from year one and remains subject to approval by the shareholders of the respective funds. Aberdeen highlights this deal as its 10th US closed-end fund acquisition since 2000 and notes that it currently manages about £21.4bn in closed-end funds and roughly £382bn in total client assets as of 30 September 2025. The combined funds will be managed by Aberdeen’s Global Head of Fixed Income, with one multi-sector fund investing across bonds, including private credit, for income and risk-adjusted returns.

Aberdeen Investments has agreed to acquire certain assets related to MFS' business of managing U.S. closed-end funds totaling $2bn in assets as of September 30, 2025. Subject to conditions and shareholder approvals, Aberdeen would become manager of two U.S. closed-end funds formed by consolidating nine MFS-managed funds and one Aberdeen-managed fund.

Aberdeen highlights that the enlarged funds are expected to have meaningful scale, with Aberdeen already managing $26.1bn in closed-end funds as of September 30, 2025, and states the acquisition is income accretive from year one. The combined funds will be led by Aberdeen’s Global Head of Fixed Income and are intended to focus on fixed income and private credit, including a multi-sector fund investing across bond sectors. Shareholders are advised that a combined prospectus/proxy statement will be filed for the proposed combination and that closed-end fund shares may trade at premiums or discounts to net asset value.

MFS closed-end funds have announced a major reorganization proposal. On December 11, 2025, the boards approved plans to merge seven NYSE-listed MFS closed-end funds into two existing funds. MCR, MGF, MIN, and CIF would reorganize into MFS Multimarket Income Trust (MMT), while CXE, CMU, and CXH would reorganize into MFS Municipal Income Trust (MFM), all subject to shareholder approval.

If shareholders of MFM and MMT approve, abrdn Inc. will become investment adviser to both funds, which will be renamed Aberdeen Municipal Income Fund and Aberdeen Multi-Market Income Fund, and new Aberdeen trustees will replace the current trustees. Shareholders of record as of December 11, 2025 will receive proxy materials in late January 2026 and may vote by phone, web, mail, or in person at a special meeting tentatively set for March 11, 2026. The reorganization is intended to be tax-free and is expected to close in June 2026 if approved.

MFS Municipal Income Trust (MFM) Form 4 lists Kanwal Amrit of MFS Investment Management as the reporting person in the capacity of an officer of the advisor. The form indicates an earliest transaction date of 04/01/2025 but contains no completed Table I or Table II transaction lines showing shares, prices, or derivative details. The filing is signed on 10/06/2025.

MFS Municipal Income Trust (NYSE:MFM) filed a routine Form 4 disclosing an insider ownership update by William Adams, an officer of the Trust’s advisor. The filing cites September 30, 2024 as the earliest transaction date but, in the excerpt provided, does not list the number of shares, transaction code, price, or whether securities were acquired or disposed of. No derivative positions, financial schedules, or other material corporate events are presented.

Given the absence of quantitative trade data or indications of a sizable transaction, the document appears to be a standard Section 16 compliance filing with no immediate market impact.