According to the Bond Buyer, “September municipal bond issuance declined 43% year-over-year, with nearly every structure and sector seeing large drops, as issuers eschewed the market amid another Federal Reserve rate hike and severe global market volatility.”1 Municipal bonds sold off in sympathy with Treasuries and as a consequence, yields increased to the highest level of the year.
Historical Municipal and Treasury Yield Movements
With AAA-rated Muni yields crossing above the comparable Treasury yield, there are compelling reasons to invest in highly-rated municipals. Remember, most interest received from municipal bonds is federally (and sometimes state) tax-exempt, while the interest paid on Treasuries is taxable. If an investor is in a high tax bracket, municipals are starting to look very attractive. For example, if you are in a 30% tax bracket and invest in a 30-year AAA-rated municipal yielding 3.90%, you would need an equivalent taxable yield of 5.57% (0.0390/(1-0.30)=0.557 or 5.57%) to be indifferent between the two securities. Based on the chart above, it is clear that it would be more advantageous to purchase municipal bonds versus purchasing 30-year Treasuries yielding 3.78%, significantly below the 5.57% equivalent taxable yield required if you are in a 30% tax bracket.
Another interesting feature to note from the chart above, we see that the Treasury yield curve is inverted. An inverted yield curve occurs when yields on longer maturities are lower than yields on shorter maturities. Historically, this has been a telltale sign of an impending recession. Further note that the municipal yield curve is not inverted, nor has it ever been. Why? In regards to the municipal market, the short end is perennially “rich” — that is, high in price and thus low in terms of yield. That reflects the persistent supply-demand mismatch, as the lion’s share of municipal bond issuance comes from the long end of the maturity curve in the municipal market. As a result, short-term municipals are most advantageous to those in the highest tax brackets, while farther out the yield curve, the tax-exempt status pays off for those in lower brackets.
With the real threat of a recession in 2023, credit analysis of municipals will once again be very important as the market changes. One must look at the macro factors that affect the municipal issuer including demographics, wage growth and unemployment trends. Let’s review the two largest types of municipal bonds — GOs and Revenue Bonds.
With rates at near zero for many years, the current rising interest rate environment will require more due diligence—not only in the municipal market but the corporate market as well.
Watch our webinar covering Municipal Securities. Register and view the agenda here.
Monthly Newsletter | Subscribe to news from the SS&C Learning Institute to gain access to expert insights on the latest industry topics.
About Us | The SS&C Learning Institute is a division of SS&C dedicated to providing continuing education for today’s professionals. From a library of 250+ online courses to webinar services, our offerings are delivered by industry-leading subject matter experts and cover a wide variety of topics, from key regulatory updates and new investment vehicles to trending topics such as ESG investing and digital assets. To learn more about the SS&C Learning Institute, please visit ssctech.com/learn.
1 Bond Buyer – September 30, 2022