The Fed on Wednesday raised its target range for the Fed Funds Rate by 50 basis points (0.50%) to 4.25%-4.50%. The Fed Funds Rate (FFR) most directly impacts short term treasury rates, while bonds 5-years and beyond are primarily priced based on market forces and the expectations for future growth, inflation, and resulting Fed policy. […]
The market rout of 2022 has left few asset classes unscathed. The S&P 500 is down 22.51% through 9/23. While bonds have not been immune given the Fed’s 180 degree policy turn from late 2021 and persistent inflationary pressures. The 2-year treasury’s steep rise is a sharp representation of how quickly the Fed transformed from […]
The first half of 2022 is one of the few market environments in recent history where all major asset classes suffered. The Novel Investor blog’s Asset Class Returns captures this nicely noting “cash” outperformed with a +0.2% return. “HG Bonds” (high-grade bonds) came in an uninspiring second place at negative 10.4%, while the S&P 500 […]
Jerome Powell and his Federal Reserve colleagues have begun taking steps to put the income back in fixed income assets, leading to one of the worst bond market drawdowns in the past forty years. Rates have spiked as the Fed has made a rapid about-face in its monetary policy approach. Concurrently, municipal yields are up […]
Jerome Powell and his Federal Reserve colleagues have begun taking steps to put the income back in fixed income assets, leading to one of the worst bond market drawdowns in the past forty years. Rates have spiked as the Fed has made a rapid about-face in its monetary policy approach, as it aims to quell […]
2022 is off to a volatile start in global financial markets as the Fed begins the process of tightening monetary policy. Yields have risen – especially at the front end of the yield curve, thereby flattening the curve. Today the average AA rated 2-year and 10-year municipal bond yields 0.97% (1.53% TEY) and 1.66% (2.63% […]
Northfield, IL November 2021 — Bernardi Asset Management (BAM), a wholly owned subsidiary of Bernardi Securities, Inc. (BSI) has been awarded a PSN Top Guns distinction by Informa Financial Intelligence’s PSN manager database, North America’s longest running database of investment managers. This award was for BAM’s Intermediate-Term Taxable strategy. This is the second Top Gun […]
As the Fed publicly discusses it is nearing the end of its emergency approach to the pandemic and begins scaling back its pace of securities purchases, we thought it would be a good time to review the current status of the municipal market and potential outcomes for the 4th quarter. Municipal yields – and bond […]
The two main ingredients determining long-term bonds yields are future growth and inflation expectations. Yields have dropped significantly the past number of months as investors have come around to the Fed’s view of high inflation as transitory and the expectation of muted long-term growth projections. Over the past four months, the 10-year Treasury Note has […]
The past year and half presented many challenges, but also a multitude of silver-linings and learning experiences. Within the municipal bond market, the experience verified the sector’s overall creditworthy reputation and balance sheet sturdiness. Federal monetary and fiscal policy intervention certainly have helped, though most states projected balanced budgets prior to the latest round of […]