Opportunity Zones: An Overlooked Impetus for Municipal Credit Enhancement
Putting fixed income assets to work in a world of 2% 10Yr Treasuries is challenging. Appleton Partners understands this and feels there is still value and opportunity. Nathan Harris, CFA, Co-Director of Municipal Research, sees considerable credit catalyst potential from Opportunity Zone investment.
Review and
Outlook
January 2020
“The differential between 2 and 10-year AAA municipals increased meaningfully as Q4 closed, moving from 20 to 40 basis points over the quarter. We continue to see value in the 6 to 12-year maturity range…”
Learn MoreDecember 2019
“At times we are asked how Appleton’s credit research team covers tax-exempt markets comprised of more than 50,000 bond issuers and more than 1 million total bonds outstanding. The answer lies in the alignment of our research efforts with the nature of our investment process…”
Learn MoreNovember 2019
“A steeper muni yield curve is welcome as it now offers a bit more value for adding duration…”
Learn MoreOctober 2019
“For those looking to put cash to work on a temporary basis, or simply wishing to maintain liquid, high quality assets, ultra-short accounts with an ability to tactically allocate between VRDNs and short munis as relative value changes may have appeal…”
Learn MoreEconomic and
Market Commentary
11.13.2019
Differentiating Credit Vigilance From Complacency
“All too often favorable capital market conditions have generated a degree of investor and analyst complacency. With municipal credit spreads at near record lows, the margin for safety has been diminished…”
Learn More09.03.2019
Opportunity Zones: A Look at Potentially Winning Models
“Opportunity Zones are fast becoming a real estate development buzzword, as powerful tax incentives unleashed by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act sparks a proliferation of private capital investment into economically stressed census tracts…”
Learn More05.28.2019
Opportunity Zones:
An Impetus for Municipal Credit Enhancement
“As capital flows into Opportunity Zones, we are actively looking for localities with the best prospects … Weeding through Opportunity Zone tracts early in their evolution offers our research team an ability to identify municipal issuers with overlooked future credit prospects…”
Learn More02.25.2019
Beyond Ladders:
Attributes of Active Management
“In the tax-exempt markets, the debate is often seen through the lens of active vs. laddered bond strategies, particularly with separately managed accounts. While there are merits to both approaches, and they appeal to different investor needs, we believe active management has certain inherent advantages…”
Learn MoreQuarterly
Perspectives
Q4 2019
Forecasting in an Uncertain World
“As we close the door on the 2010s and enter the 2020s, thinking about the risks we know, don’t know, and don’t know we don’t know can help frame market expectations…”
Learn MoreQ3 2019
Demystifying and Demilitarizing Trade
“In a recent speech concerning risks to the US economy, noted economist Robert Shiller discussed the term “trade war” and how its meaning has evolved over time…”
Learn MoreQ2 2019
Summer Days: Bright Skies and Hazy Outlooks
“The first six months of the year were, for all the volatility, a period of capital markets strength. It’s far too early to say what the next six will bring, but at a minimum, we see reasons to expect volatility to continue and emphasize the value of sticking to a clear-eyed plan…”
Learn MoreQ1 2019
Sympathy for the Yield Curve
“The US economy is showing vulnerability to geopolitical risk, but – as Mick Jagger once sang in ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ – “as heads is tails,” a bear reading and a bull reading of the economy may explain the seeming contradiction of the first quarter…”
Learn More