Market Commentaries
Are the Bond Vigilantes Back?
October 2023Yields moved up precipitously during the month of September as the AAA rated 10-year municipal has moved from 2.85% on August 31st to 3.52%[1] today. 3.52% is equivalent to a taxable rate of 5.58% calculated at the 37% bracket. This bond selloff (highe …
Market Anxiety From One D-Word to Another
May 2023Moody’s “Corporate Default Rate to Breach Historical Levels” Three of four of the largest U.S. bank failures have occurred in the past two months Capital One: “Credit Card Delinquencies Test Multi-Year Highs as Job Market Faces ‘Material’ Worsening. Po …
On Recent Market Turmoil and the Safety of Your Assets
March 2023On Recent Market Turmoil and the Safety of Your Assets The market volatility over the last two weeks has occurred across a broad section of financial markets with varying levels of severity. And this dynamic is likely to remain present for some time as …
Municipal Market Update: The Best Defense is a Good Defense
December 2022The 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 …
Perspective for Advisors | Tax Loss Swap into a SMA
September 2022The 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 …
Market Update: Municipal Yield and Valuation Overview
August 2022The 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-g …
Perspective for Advisors: Bonds are Back!
April 2022Jerome 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 …
Municipal Market Update – Bonds are Back!
April 2022Jerome 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 …
Yield Curve Historical Perspective & Municipal Market Update
February 20222022 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 …
37 YEARS
December 2021of serving Investors, Issuers, and the Municipal Bond Market THANK YOU. We wish you and your family a healthy and prosperous 2022 and offer our profound “thank you” for your continued confidence in the Bernardi team. We greatly appreciate the o …
End of Easy and its Implications for the Municipal Bond Market
September 2021As 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 potentia …
Market Summary & Relative Value of (Municipal) Bonds
August 2021The 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 th …
Municipal Bond Past, Present & Future | 2020’s Stress Test and What Lies Ahead
June 2021The 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. Fede …
Perspective for Advisors: Muni Duration & Sharpe Ratio Analysis
April 2021Municipal bonds are known for their credit preservation characteristics (and certainly have proved their worth during today’s crisis), but another less known attribute of the asset class is their ability to mitigate duration.1 Duration is one of the pr …
2021 Municipal Outlook and Year-end Review
January 2021Apparent Risk in Municipal Bond Land In December 2019 we released Unapparent Risk in Municipal Bond Land which recapped a solid year of performance and warned investors of the underlying risks within the municipal market. We did not expect those risks …