Market Commentaries
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 …
Perspective for Advisors: Opportunity in Taxable Municipal Bonds
December 2020Taxable municipal bonds (taxable at the federal – and oftentimes state – income level) have historically lacked investors’ attention due to limited supply and presence in a market dominated by investors seeking non-taxable income. Supply has skyrockete …
Update: COVID-19 and its Impact on Municipal Credit (Part III)
September 2020September 28, 2020 In Part III of our municipal credit commentary pertaining to the health and economic crisis brought on by COVID-19 we overview the most recent data available pertaining to state revenue surveys and data from municipalities within the …
Market Review – Summer 2020
July 2020Please find below our portfolio management team’s Summer 2020 Municipal Market Review. This provides an overview of current market conditions and information about municipal strategies. If you would like additional information about our outlook, proc …
Perspective for Advisors: Separately Managed Accounts Prove Their Worth
May 2020In March 2020, the COVID-19 crisis caused dislocations across world financial markets. The municipal market was not sheltered from this chaos. At the end of February, tax-free yields were sub-1% out to 11-year maturities. In mid-March, municipal bond p …
Unique Economic Challenges of COVID-19: The Evolving Impact on Municipal Credit, Part II
April 2020The effects of COVID-19 on the nation are far different than prior natural disasters in the recent history of the United States and continue to evolve with each day. We are still learning and reacting. The national impact is significant as evidenced by …
Keeping Calm and Carrying On
April 2020I hope you and your families are well. I hope everyone is safe. The current state of affairs all of us face is fluid, so I want to provide you with periodic updates. Thankfully to date, the entire Bernardi Securities team remains healthy, safe, and eng …