Market Commentaries
Year of the Rooster
January 2017By Jeffrey D. Irish We wish you a healthy, happy and prosperous 2017. We thank our many clients and friends for your continued confidence and belief in the Bernardi team, our processes and the way we approach investing in today’s volatile bond market. …
Municipal Pension Liabilities: Between a Rock and a Hard Place?
October 2016By Matthew P. Bernardi Municipalities have done an excellent job since the financial crisis in stabilizing their finances and have pulled a number of levers to reduce fixed costs. Today’s low growth environment calls for prudent management and the aver …
Market Review – Fall 2016
October 2016Market Update: Fed fund futures priced in a low probability of a September rate hike and the Fed did not disappoint by holding rates steady. The municipal market saw yields drift higher for the quarter as the Fed fund futures market show an increased p …
Market Review – Summer 2016
July 2016Market Update: Municipal bond yields decreased during the second quarter with AAA 5-year, 10-year, and 20-year yields falling 21, 37, and 49 basis points, respectively. Yields dropped dramatically after the United Kingdom (U.K.) voted to leave the Euro …
Market Update: June 30, 2016
June 2016By Thomas P. Bernardi We have provided some color about the current state of the bond market below: Worldwide interest rates have declined in the aftermath of the Brexit vote. The bond market rally continued through Monday, June 27th, with the taxable …
Our Three Pillars and the Latest Census Report
June 2016By Matthew P. Bernardi Our descriptive Three Pillars is an over generalization of our approach to municipal credit analysis. When we look under the hood of each bond, numerous variables come into play, including: State statutes, taxing capacities and l …
Fiduciary vs. Suitability and Our Portfolio Management Process
May 2016By Michelle Bernardi Landis I have spoken to a number of clients recently regarding the impact the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Fiduciary Standard ruling will have on their qualified plans. Even though the DOL ruling only affects retirement accounts, i …
Market Review – Spring 2016
April 2016Market Update: Municipal bond yields decreased during the first quarter with AAA 5- year, 10-year, and 20-year yields falling 15, 18, and 8 basis points, respectively. In March, the Federal Reserve announced that their pace of interest rate increases w …
Selling Your Bonds?
April 2016Are you thinking of selling some of your bonds? Selling bonds is an infrequent exercise for most retail investors and even many institutional clients. A vexing question for many is, “How do I know I am getting a fair market price for my bonds?” At many …
Ides Of March 2016 – Et Tu, Puerto Rico?
March 2016By Ronald P. Bernardi IDES OF MARCH 2016 – ET TU, PUERTO RICO? The Ides of March, the 15th of the month, represents the monthly midpoint of the Roman calendar. Julius Caesar was assassinated on the Ides in 44 BC by his friend Marcus Brutus and others …
Muni Bonds Continue to Provide Stability in an Uncertain Market
February 2016By Matthew P. Bernardi According to the ICI Institute, municipal bond fund inflows amounted to $857 million for data ending February 24th.[1] This is now twenty-one straight weeks of inflows into municipal bond funds and we are on pace to see the highe …
Market Review – Winter 2015
February 2016Market Update: As many market participants anticipated, on Wednesday, December 16th the Federal Reserve announced its first rate hike since 2006 increasing the fed funds rate to a range of 0.25% – 0.50%. Despite the news, municipal bond yields decrease …
Market Review – Winter 2015
January 2016Market Update: As many market participants anticipated, on Wednesday, December 16th the Federal Reserve announced its first rate hike since 2006 increasing the fed funds rate to a range of 0.25% – 0.50%. Despite the news, municipal bond yields decrease …
City of Worcester, MA
January 2016City of Worchester successfully issued $41.492 Million of Series 2015A General Obligation Municipal Purpose Bonds. The Bonds are rated AA-minus by S&P, Aa3 by Moody’s, and AA-minus by Fitch. The Bonds are being issued for the purpose of fina …
RE: “How Muni Bonds ‘Yield’ 4% in a 2% World”
November 2015By Ronald P. Bernardi Let’s slow down a bit before jumping to conclusions. Here are several observations about the October 30th, Wall Street Journal article How Muni Bonds ‘Yield’ 4% in a 2% World. Author Jason Zweig makes a valid point in asserting th …