If watching bond market yields made you dizzy in 2023, we understand.
At the beginning of last year, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was at 3.87%. It bottomed out in late April, then crept up to its high of 4.91% at the end of October before closing out the year about where it started, at 3.86%.
Today it’s about 4.00%.
We don’t try to predict the precise oscillations in yields or prognosticate in general (that’s futile, no one has a crystal ball), but over the past year, we did share with clients and friends what’s important and what we knew about the municipal bond market.
Topical news on muni market
We discussed muni yields that were near decade-long highs and what’s behind it (“Why a Chief Stock Strategist Likes Bonds,” “Muni Rolls Swell Amid Higher Yields,” “Tomorrow’s Value of Today’s Municipal Bond Yields”).
We reported important news about the credit quality of issuers (“States, Localities Shoring Up State Pension Plans,” “Early Reports From Muni Issuers”) as well as potential potholes for investors (“Investors Battered by Closed-end Muni Funds,” “Long-Term Bonds, Not Ladders, Lock in Attractive Yields”).
We reviewed strategies (“Tax Swap End-of-Year Option,” “Rethinking Your Reinvestments,” “Parking Problem: How Muni Investors Lose Out”) and looked at topical issues and how they might affect the muni market (“Municipal Bonds Amid Banking Turmoil”).
Speak to a Muni Pro
You've enjoyed reading our insights, now speak with the pros to find the right bonds for you.
Our goal – as it’s always been since our founding in 1978 – is to provide municipal bond investors with the tools they need to be successful. We do this in our original articles (Muni News and Perspectives) and Q&A (Muni Bond Forum) and of course one-on-one through our municipal bond specialists.
Also constant is our message to the generations of muni investors we have served: Ignore the headlines. Think quality first, then yield. Stay focused on the primary goal of municipal bonds, maintaining a steady stream of tax-free income.
If you have any questions or comments about the bond market or your particular situation, contact us online or call us at 1-800-367-2663.
On behalf of everyone at FMSbonds, Inc., we wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous new year. We look forward to continue to serve you.