SUB News and Press, iShares Short-Term National Muni Bond From 10/18/22

Summary The additional yield from a municipal bond is a multiple of what it was running prior to the pandemic. When we bring up a recession scenario, it’s important to underscore the role of municipal bonds, and bonds in general, in your asset allocation. Tax-loss harve...

Summary Negative total returns were driven by a sharp move higher in interest rates. Despite manageable issuance, elevated bid-wanted activity weighed on the market. We see several reasons to be more constructive on the asset class into year-end. Municipal market ins...

Summary Despite the recent interest rate volatility, municipals have managed to do better than taxable bonds. Municipals have the same default rate as AAA-rated corporates. Adjusting for duration, municipals’ taxable equivalent yield is still superior. Municipals&#x...

Summary The Federal Reserve continued to raise short-term rates in their battle to slow inflation in the third quarter. The end of the quarter saw Hurricane Ian deal a lethal blow to southwest Florida. The economic impact is severe and portends a big downshift in the economy o...

Summary In addition to the Fed Funds rate increasing, longer-term rates have increased as the market anticipates the path of future rate hikes. Interest rate increases can have a significant impact on bond investments, since bond prices fall when interest rates rise. However, ...

Summary Historic levels of volatility in the municipal (muni) bond market so far this year has caused investor concerns over market conditions. Technical conditions in the market have improved for tax-exempt investors as the year has progressed, yet outflows of funds from the sect...

Summary For the Refinitiv Lipper fund flows week ended September 21, 2022, money market funds was the only asset class to attract net new money for the week. Year to date, the average equity fund is down 20.67%, while its taxable and tax-exempt fixed income counterparts are down 1...

Summary Transparency and competition in the municipal market have largely improved with advances in regulation, electronic platforms and algorithms. The surge in trading volume year-to-date, however, also reflects a pronounced rise in swapping activity, which has distorted typical...

Summary Rising interest rates severely pressured fixed income assets in August. Municipals slightly outperformed U.S. Treasuries amid supportive supply-and-demand dynamics. A more defensive stance is warranted as seasonal trends typically turn less favorable in September. ...

Summary Investors were overall net redeemers of fund assets (including those of conventional funds and ETFs) for the second week in a row. Markets finished mixed after the Dow and S&P 500 posted their best one-day returns in almost a month on the last trading day of the fund-f...