May 2014
Municipal Market Outlook Relative Value and Tight Supply Investment Professionals
The Barclays Municipal Bond Index posted strong returns of 3.32 percent in the first quarter
B. Scott Minerd
of 2014, outperforming the Credit Suisse High Yield Index, the Institutional Leveraged Loan
Global Chief Investment Officer Anne B. Walsh, CFA Assistant Chief Investment Officer, Fixed Income
Index and even some equity indices, such as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. Underpinning this solid municipal bond performance has been improving fundamentals at state and local governments, which have made progress fixing structural problems like pension shortfalls that have plagued issuers and curtailed market returns. Despite these returns, municipal bond funds recorded an outflow of $1.2 billion in the first quarter. However, demand from investors should return just as supply constraints may restrict
James Pass
annual issuance. We expect municipal bond issuance will fall to $280-$300 billion in 2014.
Senior Managing Director,
That would be the lowest issuance volume in a decade as annual volume has averaged over
Portfolio Manager
$350 billion since 2000. We expect prices of municipals to rise further in 2014 as a result of the improved state
Allen Li, CFA
macroeconomic outlook combined with reduced supply of municipal bonds. Some investors
Managing Director,
have avoided municipal bonds because of negative attention surrounding troubled issuers
Portfolio Manager
such as Puerto Rico, Illinois and Detroit. Nevertheless, we believe there is still relative value to be found in this supply-constrained environment. We find particular value in the often
Chris Randall Vice President, Trader
neglected 10- to 15-year mid-range maturity for municipal bonds.
Report Highlights § Improving economic growth does not translate into more bond issuance: Improving
David A. Stone
economic fundamentals are unlikely to translate into additional municipal bond issuance.
Analyst,
A combination of structural, political and technical forces will conspire to keep the overall
Credit Research
volume of new and refunding issuance low. This should be a tailwind for prices.
Perry Hollowell, CFA, CMT, CAIA Vice President, Investment Research
§ States are reluctant to issue new debt: Most major spending by state and local governments, such as Medicaid and pensions, is mandatory and has increased in recent years. As a result, states have less flexibility to meet new interest payments and have become more reluctant to issue new bonds. § The wave of refinancing is past: Refunding high-interest debt with low-interest debt is a critical supply component of the municipal bond market. Because many of the typical candidates have been refunded already, we do not expect refunding volume to represent a significant portion of annual issuance this year.
Guggenheim Investments
Municipal Market Outlook | May 2014
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