I have been an active member of national associations of
municipal bond issuers, investors, counsel and financial advisers.
In their view, credit fundamentals are improving for many
municipal bond issuers and taxable equivalent yields are attractive relative to other fixed income asset classes.
Liquidity: Due to the large number of U.S.
municipal bond issuers and the sheer number of municipal bonds outstanding the depth of liquidity for U.S. municipal bonds has been a factor impacting the market for decades.
Last year, 187 U.S.
municipal bond issuers officially defaulted, on a total of $ 6.4 billion — almost half of which was from 122 real estate projects in Florida.
MBIA, one of the largest
municipal bond issuers, saw its stock plummet about 20 percent on heavy volume in Monday trading.
Most Municipal bonds are exempt from federal and state taxation, so their coupon rate is typically lower than both Corporate and Treasury bonds, presuming
the Municipal bond issuer has a solid credit rating.
Not exact matches
Ratings agencies research the financial health of each
bond issuer (including
issuers of
municipal bonds) and assign ratings to the
bonds being offered.
a
municipal bond that is secured by an escrow fund; the escrow fund comes from the
issuer floating a second
bond issue and using the proceeds from that second
bond issue to purchase government obligations, typically U.S. Treasuries, proceeds from the second
bond issue create an escrow fund to mature at the first call date of the first
bond issue to pre-refund that issue;
bond issuers will typically do this during times of lower interest rates to lower their interest costs
For a complete listing of specific
issuer information, such as official statements,
issuer disclosures and
municipal bond pricing, please visit the MSRB's Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA) at www.emma.
municipal bond pricing, please visit the MSRB's Electronic
Municipal Market Access (EMMA) at www.emma.
Municipal Market Access (EMMA) at www.emma.msrb.org.
Municipal bond sales next week from New York City, the state of Oregon and a California healthcare provider worth nearly $ 1.7 billion include warnings to potential buyers that Trump's policies could pose a financial risk to these
issuers.
«Statistically» this year to date, «only» 30
municipal issuers have officially defaulted on $ 1.5 billion in
bonds, but thousands of government authorities are in de facto default on payments, and madly scrambling for re-negotiation, or forebearance, or blind hope.
Janet's clients span a variety of industries in Texas and nationwide and she is a highly respected
bond counsel, underwriter counsel, credit bank counsel, borrower counsel,
issuer counsel and trustee counsel in connection with multi-million-dollar
municipal and conduit
bond issues for school districts, charter schools, private schools and local governments.
Janet Vaughan Robertson's practices focuses on the public finance arena and she is a highly respected
bond counsel, underwriter counsel, credit bank counsel, borrower counsel,
issuer counsel and trustee counsel in connection with multi-million dollar
municipal and conduit
bond issues for school districts, charter schools, private schools and local government.
The stars aligned in spectacular fashion for the
municipal bond market in 2014: Low supply amid solid demand, improving fiscal conditions among state and local
issuers, and a broad drop in interest rates (and rise in
bond prices) helped make munis one of the top - performing fixed income asset classes of the year.
General obligation
bonds:
Municipal bonds that are backed by the full faith, credit, and taxing power of the
issuer.
Issuers of
municipal bonds are not required to publish an official statement, but most do anyway.
Diversity & number of
bond issues: The nearly 100,000 bond issues tracked in the S&P Municipal Bond Index illustrates that the municipal market has many smaller and less frequent issuers than the corporate bond mar
bond issues: The nearly 100,000
bond issues tracked in the S&P Municipal Bond Index illustrates that the municipal market has many smaller and less frequent issuers than the corporate bond mar
bond issues tracked in the S&P
Municipal Bond Index illustrates that the municipal market has many smaller and less frequent issuers than the corporate bon
Municipal Bond Index illustrates that the municipal market has many smaller and less frequent issuers than the corporate bond mar
Bond Index illustrates that the
municipal market has many smaller and less frequent issuers than the corporate bon
municipal market has many smaller and less frequent
issuers than the corporate
bond mar
bond market.
A zero coupon
bond issued by a corporation or the U.S. Treasury is also taxable, unlike those offered by a
municipal issuer.
While the two main categories of funds are those that provide taxable or tax - exempt income to investors,
bond funds also vary based on maturity (short - term, long - term), type of
issuer (
municipal, corporate, etc.), strategy, investment objective and credit quality.
a
municipal bond that is secured by an escrow fund; the escrow fund comes from the
issuer floating a second
bond issue and using the proceeds from that second
bond issue to purchase government obligations, typically U.S. Treasuries, proceeds from the second
bond issue create an escrow fund to mature at the first call date of the first
bond issue to pre-refund that issue;
bond issuers will typically do this during times of lower interest rates to lower their interest costs
the area or activities to which the funds raised from a
municipal bond issue will be directed and, in turn, the source of future
bond interest payments and principal repayment; for general obligation
bonds, funds raised may be for general purposes, both operating and infrastructure, and payments are secured by the general taxing power of the
issuer — usually a state, town, or city; revenue
bonds are categorized under terms such as «Utilities» or «Transportation»
a type of
municipal bond backed by the full faith, credit, and taxing power of the
issuer, specifically its ability to collect taxes; only entities that have the right to levy and collect taxes can issue general obligation
bonds; certain governmental entities are subject to legal limits on the amount of taxes that they can impose, and their issues are called limited - tax general obligation
bonds; unlimited - tax
bonds are issued by government entities that are not subject to those limits
Call risk Some corporate,
municipal and agency
bonds have a «call provision» entitling their
issuers to redeem them at a specified price on a date prior to maturity.
Due to the success of Build America
Bonds, the program's features have been passed on to more
municipal issuers.
Eligible
issuers of school construction
bonds and zone academy
bonds can receive payments equal to the lesser of the actual interest rate of the
bonds or the tax credit rate for
municipal tax - credit
bonds, which the Treasury sets daily.
You then purchase in the secondary market a replacement triple - A-rated 5.00 %
municipal bond (from a different
issuer), maturing in 15 years, at an approximate cost of $ 47,500.
Municipal bonds can be significantly affected by political or economic changes as well as uncertainties in the municipal market related to taxation, legislative changes or the rights of municipal security holders, including in connection with an issuer in
Municipal bonds can be significantly affected by political or economic changes as well as uncertainties in the
municipal market related to taxation, legislative changes or the rights of municipal security holders, including in connection with an issuer in
municipal market related to taxation, legislative changes or the rights of
municipal security holders, including in connection with an issuer in
municipal security holders, including in connection with an
issuer insolvency.
The S&P
Municipal Bond New Jersey General Obligation Index returned 3.7 % significantly behind general obligations of other large
issuers such as California (10.59 %), Illinois (9.63 %) and New York (6 %).
There is a vast number of
municipal bond issues out there, from thousands of different
issuers, and very few of them will change hands on any given day.
The risks: Despite some high - profile
municipal bond defaults, such as the 1994 default by California's Orange County, the vast majority of state and local
bond issuers repay their debts as promised.
While tough economic times and reduced tax revenues possibly might create difficulties for some states in re-paying
municipal bonds, credit risk can be reduced by focusing on ETFs which invest in higher credit quality
issuers.
Essentially, when investors buy a
municipal bond, they loan money to the
bond's
issuer in exchange for a specified number of interest payments over a set period of time.
Most zero - coupon
municipal bonds are rated A or higher by the rating agencies, but it's still important to check the quality of the
issuer.
But bear in mind that between September and the end of 2008, due to the severe dislocations occurring in the
municipal market, many
issuers opted to postpone issuing
bonds.
The auction - rate
bond market included
municipal issuers.
Additionally,
municipal bonds can carry the following risk: The
municipal market can be affected by adverse tax, legislative, or political changes, and the financial condition of the
issuers of
municipal securities.
Municipal issuers have a key role to play in terms of: • Low - carbon technologies • Pollution control • Climate adaptation, such as disaster prevention and recovery We will seek to avoid purchasing the relatively few government - issued
bonds that are explicitly issued to finance the development of projects, such as nuclear power plants or casinos, which are fundamentally misaligned with our investment objectives Sovereign Debt National governments around the world issue
bonds (debt) to finance a wide variety of public goods including education, infrastructure, national defense, the judiciary and social welfare.
Some
municipal bonds are insured by outside agencies, usually a monoline insurer, which promises to pay the interest and principal if the
bond's
issuer defaults.
Most
municipal bonds are free from federal taxes, and if the
issuer of the
bond is located in the same state where you reside, they can be free of state and local taxes as well.
Our laddered portfolios seek to diversify sector and
issuer exposure and are constructed using high quality
municipal bonds whose maturities are staggered from one to six, 12 or 18 years — ranges chosen specifically in an effort to add value.
Rhode Island's governmental
issuer of tobacco settlement revenue - backed
bonds in defense of a lawsuit brought by two
municipal bond funds seeking to block a proposed $ 600 million
municipal bond issuance.
When you buy a
municipal bond, you are loaning money to the
issuer in exchange for a set number of interest payments over a predetermined period.
An official document disseminated by an
issuer of
municipal securities that gives pertinent information regarding an upcoming
bond issue and invites bids from prospective underwriters.
If a
municipal bond, the
issuer is typically a state, political subdivision, agency or authority which borrows money through the sale of
bonds or notes.
The rating on a specific
municipal bond issue or
issuer located with the state may differ from the state rating.
In addition, changes in federal tax laws or the activity of an
issuer may adversely affect the tax - exempt status of
municipal bonds.
Debt Securities Risk (
Municipal Bond Fund only): The
issuer of a debt security may fail to pay interest or principal when due, and that changes in market interest rates may reduce the value of debt securities or reduce the Fund's returns.
A callable
municipal, corporate, federal agency or government security gives the
issuer of the
bond the right to redeem it at predetermined prices at specified times prior to maturity.
Once you purchase a
municipal bond, you're lending money to the
issuer in exchange for a fixed amount of interest payments over a set period.
I also have participated actively with national task forces and committees preparing authoritative
municipal bond market disclosure and due diligence guidance for
issuers, counsel, investors and others involved in
municipal bond transactions.