Tag Archives: munis
Seeking Shelter in Short-Term Municipals
As has been the case for most of 2023, markets continue to grapple with the notion of whether the Fed will maintain its plan of “higher for longer.” Last week’s release of strong economic data (improved GDP expectations and strong unemployment) exacerbated selling in longer-dated treasuries, sending yields higher. As a result, U.S. Treasury bonds…
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Why Reach for Yield When You Can Use a Ladder?
The current low interest rate environment is forcing many investors to reassess their risk tolerances. Typically, fixed income investors have three main options when trying to “reach” for yield: 1. Move down in credit quality (i.e., take on more credit risk); 2. Increase duration (i.e., take on more interest rate risk); or 3. Move to…
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Municipal Bonds Are Being Left Behind
Corporate bonds have garnered a lot of attention lately, as the Federal Reserve continues to stabilize markets by establishing multiple facilities that support both the primary and secondary corporate bond markets. As a result, credit spreads have tightened significantly from where they were in March. Since March 23, 2020, the option-adjusted spread on the S&P…
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Bonds Saw Green in 2019, but They May Be Red in 2020
Rarely do we see all segments of the market go up in unison, but 2019 saw broad-based gains across stocks, bonds, and commodities. In fact, not a single sovereign bond index we track ended in the red. Considering 42 central banks cut policy rates in 2019, this may have been expected, but we would have…
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Rieger Report: Munis – “The Kids are Alright”
As we approach the mid-year point of 2017 the muni bond market has not been shaken by a heavy news cycle of downgrades, negative watches and ever present Illinois and Puerto Rico downbeat press. Technical factors play a big role in overcoming this pressure but there are other compelling rationale in support of munis in the…
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Rieger Report: Municipal bonds in 2017?
A look back may be a telling way to view municipal bonds in 2017. The modest total return of the S&P Municipal Bond Index (0.77%) in 2016 masked an atypical year of volatility for the normally staid market place. During the year, municipal bonds enjoyed being one of the ‘risk off’ asset classes and as low…
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Advisors Managing Interest Rate Risk With Municipal Bond Indices and ETFS
Given that our crystal balls are opaque for predicting interest rates, I thought it would be interesting to continue my interview with two financial advisors about managing interest rate risk in the municipal bond asset class. Matt Papazian is founding partner and CIO at Cardan Capital Partners of Denver, Colorado, and Tom Cartee is a…
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Rieger Report: Muni G.O.’s or Revenue Bonds in 2016?
The debate over which sector of municipal bonds, general obligation bonds (G.O.’s) or revenue bonds can provide a better return is a constant one. So far in 2016, the S&P Municipal Bond Revenue Index has outperformed verses the S&P Municipal Bond General Obligation Index. Peeling the onion back a bit may help provide more insights. In general, revenue…
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The Rieger Report: S&P 500 & Investment Grade Munis – Neck & Neck
2015 has been the year of low or no returns but some positive returns are being realized. With the backdrop of volatility seen in the equity markets and the headline risk headwinds the municipal bond faced all year the total returns of the two asset classes have converged at approximately 3% year-to-date. The S&P 500…
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The Rieger Report: Defaulted municipal bonds return -1.5% year-to-date
As the Puerto Rico municipal bond saga continues it may be helpful to look at how other distressed municipal bonds have performed through Friday December 4th 2015. The S&P Municipal Bond Default Index tracks municipal bonds that have entered default by not paying all or part of the promised principal or interest when due. It currently tracks over…
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