Another option is to purchase tax - free
municipal bonds which are free from state and federal taxes and can provide decent yields to provide additional income.
There are three different types of
municipal bonds which can be issued by a state or local government.
Municipal Bond Funds invest primarily in
municipal bonds which are debt issued by state governments, local governments, and government agencies such as a port authority or water board.
There were some aspects of the new tax legislation affecting
municipal bonds which will have implications for investors.
Not exact matches
By then, you'll have about $ 50,000 invested in
municipal bonds,
which will probably be earning $ 2,500 a year in interest.
It is also a list of the maturity dates on
which individual
bonds issued as part of a new issue
municipal bond offering will mature
The trio of ETFs, when they launch, will round out Franklin's
bond ETF lineup,
which already includes a variety of actively managed fixed - income funds covering short - duration U.S. government debt,
municipal bonds and the investment - grade corporate debt.
We also like tax - exempt
municipal bonds,
which currently offer attractive yields.
Whichever way you swing, it's becoming more compelling to have some of your portfolio in tax - free
municipal bonds,
which in the past have provided a certain level of stability in times of uncertainty.
Second, the tax bill may do away with 2 specific types of
municipal bond issues: tax - exempt advance refundings,
which are tax - exempt
bonds issued to refinance existing
municipal debt, and private activity
bonds,
which are issued by non-government borrowers such as hospitals, airports, and private universities.
The tax implications of individual
bonds are fairly straightforward: If an investor owns
bonds that generate taxable income (
which covers almost all
bonds except for
municipal bonds, in general), he or she is taxed on that income in the year it's received.
Interest income generated by
municipal bonds is generally not subject to federal taxes, and may be tax - exempt at the state and local level as well, if the
bonds were issued by the state in
which you live.
And those numbers overstate the effect of
bond fund trading because they exclude
bond trading at regional brokerages,
which play a large role in the
municipal securities market.
I slowed my
municipal bond purchases because the 10 - year
bond yield edged down to about 2.15 %,
which made yields unattractive.
No one can say what the future holds, and it's prudent to have a portion of your portfolio in gold, gold stocks and short - term, tax - free
municipal bonds, all of
which have a history of performing well in volatile times.
On the other hand that's a positive for
municipal bonds,
which are tax - free,» he said.
For those who are less risk - tolerant, the company will add more
bond ETFs
which include short - term treasuries,
municipal bonds, emerging market
bonds and more.
Split the sum amongst Treasurys,
municipal bonds (
which are similar to Treasurys in performance and yield), stocks, and mutual funds.
For example,
bonds with favorable tax treatment such as
municipal bonds can actually trade at a yield
which is below US Treasuries.
Issuance totaled USD 7.56 billion, of
which USD 2.4 billion was in U.S.
municipal bonds.
Several key provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,
which became law in December 2017, are expected to have a direct impact on the
municipal bond market.
They should go higher as interest rates rise, but they aren't as tax efficient as
municipal bonds,
which are already yielding higher rates.
This has prompted many foreign investors to seek out other investments, including American
municipal bonds,
which still offer attractive yields.
NEARX invests in short - term
municipal bonds,
which are much less sensitive to these changes.
Many investors, sensing additional risk in stocks, have been able to find shelter in
municipal bonds,
which in the past have provided a certain level of stability in times of turmoil.
More study is probably needed, but I think it is worth asking whether the tax benefits of
municipal bonds,
which were presumably intended (at least in part) to incentivize investment in munis, are actually accomplishing that objective.
Municipal bond interest is also often tax - free at the state level if you invest in a
bond that's issued in the same state in
which you reside.
The most popular
bond ETFs available are still the one - stop - shop total - market blends,
which package sovereign, corporate and
municipal debt together.
Once you know that you can make an informed decision as to whether you will earn a higher return from a tax free state or national
municipal bond fund or a taxable
bond fund of a similar credit quality and average maturity (
which is generally going to provide higher before tax returns) is going to be better for you.
Since 1970, when they began tracking defaults, the rate is even lower at 0.07 %.2 Compare that to global corporate
bonds,
which defaulted at a 2.06 % rate in 2016.3 It's important to note that the overall muni rate remained that low despite 2016 having the highest
municipal defaults volume on record, all related to Puerto Rico.
However, it also takes less credit risk,
which we feel is a nice balance in a short term
municipal bond fund.
People who require reduced taxes on income may choose a closed end fund that uses a tax - fee income strategy,
which invests mainly in
municipal bonds.
Municipal Bond Funds
which are free from AMT will often have «AMT Free» in the name of the fund, and this information can be found in the fund's prospectus as well.
There are three distinct average maturity ranges for
municipal bond funds,
which is a measure of how long the
bonds the fund holds have until maturity.
The firm takes a bit more interest rate risk than other short term
municipal bond funds and a bit less credit risk a strategy
which has contributed to its long term outperformance.
Thompson will return as chief administrative officer, said the firm,
which specializes in underwriting
municipal bonds.
James Lyman, director of
municipal bond research at Manhattan - based Neuberger Berman, then testified that the town should have alerted his firm to an acceleration clause,
which required the town to pay the entire loan within 60 days of a default.
Miner also asked Katko to make sure any tax reform plan preserves the tax - exempt status of
municipal bonds,
which helps cities finance their infrastructure projects.
The comptroller said the tax plans also could result in higher costs for
municipal bonds,
which would drive up state and local expenses for infrastructure investments.
Schonhorn and Kelley were accused of bribing Kang to steer fixed income investments,
which can include
municipal and corporate
bonds, their way, even though their firms were not on the retirement fund's «approved list.»
Since the crash, a down - spiral is underway in the $ 2.8 trillion
municipal - funding system, in
which local governments don't have the revenue to meet
bond payments, they can't get new financing,
municipal bond rates are rising, and, to worsen it all, crazy credit default swap deals have been foisted on localities.
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.
But less than a month after the July contributions, a two - page memo went from Cuomo's Division of the Budget to the state's Dormitory Authority,
which issues debt on behalf of schools and hospitals that have less experience (and scale) in the
municipal bond market.
Howard Cure, the director of
municipal research for Evercore Wealth Management,
which holds both Thruway and Bridge Authority
bonds, said he believed a merger was possible, and would be easiest if the Thruway simply bought out its smaller, better - rated, partner.
The Comptroller says the tax plans could also result in higher costs for
municipal bonds,
which would drive up state and local expenses for infrastructure investments.
Moody's Investors Service maintained the city's A1 rating for
municipal bonds, but revised the city's outlook,
which was previously unstated, to negative.
Private Activity
Bonds (PABs) are a form of
municipal security of
which the proceeds are used by one or more private entities.
After a stellar 2014 in
which the S&P Canada Provincial &
Municipal Bond Index returned 10.48 %, this index is still out in front as of March 6, 2015, returning 2.76 % YTD.
Among other legitimate shelters are charitable donations; 529 savings plans for college costs,
which usually are deductible at the state level; and certain state and local
municipal bonds, some of
which are deductible on both state and federal taxes.
You can have
municipals,
which are guaranteed by a state or local government, or you can have corporate
bonds,
which are guaranteed by some private company.