JPMorgan California Tax Free Bond Fund Class C JCBCX

JPMorgan California Tax Free Bond C holds a quantitatively derived Negative Morningstar Medalist Rating. The rating indicates the model sees limited potential for the strategy to outperform peers on a risk-adjusted basis over a full market cycle.

People: Below Average

The People Pillar assessment is based on quantitative measures of manager experience, track record, and alignment. Over periods of up to 10 years, the successful manager experience metric, calculated across the actively managed strategies the manager has run over that period, ranks below peers. Separately, we measure risk-adjusted excess return by analyzing managers' information ratios over the one-, three-, and five-year periods. These rank slightly above peers, below peers, and below peers, respectively. Managers have no reported investment in the fund.

Process: Below Average

The Process rating is driven by the fund's gross-of-fee information ratio, a measure of risk-adjusted excess return. Over one, three, and five years, it ranks within the bottom 10% of peers, below peers, and below peers, respectively. The parent firm's risk-adjusted success ratio, which measures the share of its fixed income funds that outperform peers, ranks slightly above peer firms over 10 years.

Performance (in US Dollar)

Over the past 12 months, JPMorgan California Tax Free Bond C share class returned 4.8%, underperforming both its category index, the Bloomberg Municipal MF CA Interm TR USD Index (5.9%), and its Morningstar category peers (5.3%). Across 10 years, the fund returned 0.9% per year, below the index (1.8% per year) and Morningstar Category average (1.7% per year).

Price

JPMorgan California Tax Free Bond C's Prospectus Adjusted Expense Ratio is 1.05% per year. It places it in the most expensive quintile of the Morningstar US Fund Muni California Intermediate Category, where the median fee is 0.49% per year. This cost positioning translates into a Medalist Rating Price Score of -1.83, which reflects its relative price positioning within the category. The Price Score ranges from -2.50 (most expensive) to +2.50 (cheapest), with higher scores indicating better cost competitiveness.

JPMorgan California Tax Free Bond C is assigned a Below Average Process rating. Our evaluation of a strategies' Process Pillar focuses on the effectiveness of its investment approach. A well-structured process should be clearly defined and consistently applied. This assessment incorporates quantitative measures of risk-adjusted returns, success ratio, and benchmark sensitivity to gauge the fund's ability to execute its strategy effectively over time.

Fund Information Ratio

We assess the strategy's ability to generate risk-adjusted excess returns relative to its Morningstar Category Index using the gross-of-fee information ratio. This is evaluated over one-, three-, and five-year periods where available. Here, the category-relative information ratio ranks within the bottom 10% of peers over one year, below peers over three years, and below peers over five years.

Brand/Asset Class Risk-Adjusted Success Ratio

The risk-adjusted success ratio gauges a firm's ability to deliver competitive results within each major asset class. It reflects the share of the firm's funds that both survived and outperformed the peer average over trailing three-, five-, and 10-year periods, where available. Based on the average performance of the group's fixed income fund offerings, the success ratio ranks slightly below peers, relative to the other firms in the strategy's asset class over three years, slightly below peers over five years, and slightly above peers over 10 years.

Benchmark Sensitivity

We assess R-squared to measure the extent to which a fund's returns move in line with its benchmark. In our analysis, funds in the bottom decile for R-squared (that is, those least correlated from their benchmark) have historically underperformed the rest of the universe. As a result, Process Pillars for these funds are subject to a small penalty. No penalty is applied to the strategy.

JPMorgan California Tax Free Bond C earns a Below Average People rating. The People Pillar assessment evaluates the factors that shape the managers' ability to deliver consistent returns. This methodology combines quantitative inputs to judge the investment team’s strength, alignment, and stability.

Manager Experience

We assess each manager's historical ability to outperform their Morningstar Category Indices by calculating the tenure-weighted net number of successful excess return months over the past ten years. This figure reflects the number of months in which each manager achieved positive gross-of-fee excess returns, minus those with negative excess returns, across actively managed funds. To calculate this, we look across all the actively managed strategies the manager has run within the last 10 years. The result is then weighted by the managers' tenure on the strategy. On this strategy, the successful manager experience metric ranks below peers.

Manager Information Ratio

We evaluate manager's skill in generating risk-adjusted excess returns using the gross-of-fee information ratio, defined as the average gross excess return divided by the average tracking error across all strategies under their management. The metric is evaluated across the one-, three-, and five-year periods, where available, with greater emphasis placed on longer-term performance to provide a comprehensive view of consistency over time. Here, the information ratio ranks slightly above peers over one year, below peers over three years, and below peers over five years.

Manager Investment

We consider whether fund managers have personally invested at least USD 500,000 in the fund, as our analysis indicates that higher coinvestment levels are correlated with better long-term performance. A small upward adjustment to the score behind the People rating would be given if this investment hurdle were met; however, no manager investment was found in this case.

Manager Retention

We assess manager stability by examining both average annual retention rates and average manager tenure at the branding company level over the past five years. A small deduction to the People Rating is applied if either metric falls within the bottom decile globally. This adjustment reflects the increased risk of key talent turnover, which can impact the long-term execution of the strategy. No negative adjustment is warranted.

Combining these factors creates a structured and data-driven framework to assess portfolio manager quality, balancing historical performance with forward-looking considerations such as alignment and team stability.

A strong choice for active management. Building on a solid foundation, J.P. Morgan Asset Management maintains an Above Average Parent rating.

J.P. Morgan is a well-resourced, diligent, and responsible steward of client assets. Investment teams are seasoned and stalwart, especially in equity and fixed income, the latter of which has successfully undergone substantial transformation in recent years. The firm offers competitive compensation that is aligned with fundholders and shows strong retention at senior levels of the organization. It demonstrates a culture of constant innovation and willingness to evolve. For example, J.P. Morgan recently expanded its investment committee process through which senior leaders review various teams and strategies, and it continues to develop proprietary portfolio management and risk oversight tools. Some funds still face high fee hurdles, but the firm has generally lowered expenses as it has grown.

The firm isn't without its complications. J.P. Morgan's product offering is extensive, and some areas need improvement. For instance, its multi-asset business has faced some challenges as a result of complex investment processes. The firm continues to build out its footprint in China, but its efforts there remain unproven. Although not every strategy is the best in its class, J.P. Morgan remains earnest in the pursuit of excellence, and investors are well-served.

Note: This share class' Parent Pillar rating is analyst-driven, as its Branding Name, JPMorgan (Branding Name ID: BN0000095S), is covered by Morningstar Manager Research.

Performance is evaluated in US Dollar, measured to the end of April 2026.

Short-Term Performance

Over the past 12 months, JPMorgan California Tax Free Bond C share class returned 4.8%, underperforming its category index, the Bloomberg Municipal MF CA Interm TR USD Index (5.9%), and its Morningstar category peers (5.3%). Over the three-year period, it returned 2.3% per year, trailing both the index (2.9% per year) and its Morningstar category peers (3.1% per year).

Long-Term Performance

Over five years, the fund returned 0.2% per year, underperforming the index (0.9% per year) and its Morningstar Category average (0.8% per year). Over 10 years, the fund returned 0.9% per year, below the index (1.8% per year) and its Morningstar Category average (1.7% per year).

JPMorgan California Tax Free Bond C's Prospectus Adjusted Expense Ratio is 1.05% per year. It places it in the most expensive quintile of the Morningstar US Fund Muni California Intermediate Category, where the median fee is 0.49% per year. This cost positioning translates into a Medalist Rating Price Score of -1.83, which reflects its relative price positioning within the category. The Price Score ranges from -2.50 (most expensive) to +2.50 (cheapest), with higher scores indicating better cost competitiveness.