October 5, 2022 — It has been a rough couple of years for US hospitals, having navigated the front lines of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent staffing burnout. Municipal investors in the healthcare sector have seen negative returns, spurred by a combination of rapidly rising interest rates and widening credit spreads. Despite these challenges, now is not the time to shun the entire healthcare sector; rather, this represents an excellent entry point for investors willing to be selective within a sector that could provide a key yield enhancement to municipal bond portfolios.

September 6, 2022 —  To establish fund solvency, a number of pension systems need to discover new and innovative solutions to long-standing issues. Here are six recommendations from Sage on how to improve pension fund solvency and hopefully prevent or limit similar problems in the future.

August 22, 2022 — It was not so long ago that pension problems were considered a longer-term challenge and there was plenty of time to fix persistent issues. Unfortunately for a growing number of municipalities, the future is now.

August 22, 2022 — Numerous factors have contributed to the current state of underfunding in public pension plans, which has sparked political finger-pointing, credit rating downgrades, and even municipal bankruptcies in the most extreme cases. Although a handful of pension systems are near the point of total depletion, most funds still have the opportunity to correct course and establish fund solvency.

July 18, 2022 — Since 2017, there has been a dramatic shift in the coupon structure of municipal bonds. Traditional 5% coupon bond issuance declined from about 55% of total issuance in 2017 to about 30% in 2021. Conversely, sub-3% coupon bond issuance increased to over 25% in 2021 from around 10% in 2017. Multiple market forces contributed to this dynamic; however, little, if anything, was done to alert municipal investors to the potential tax risk associated with these structures.

July 8, 2022 — As the Federal Reserve continues to combat runaway inflation with interest rate hikes, many economic indicators are flashing red, suggesting that at best the economy is slowing, and at worst we may be heading toward a recession. A positive for municipal bond investors is that revenue declines at the state and local levels have historically been slow to develop.

June 6, 2022 — Municipal bonds remain one of the strongest credit quality asset classes, making now the best time to buy. Listen as Rob Williams and Jeff Timlin explain why now is the best time to purchase municipal bonds since 2013.

 

 

May 20, 2022 — Timing is everything and there has not been a better time to buy municipal bonds in almost a decade. The following are three reasons to buy muni bonds now.