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| BondsOnline.com: instant access to and extensive coverage of over 3.5 million stocks, bonds, indexes and other securities covering major and emerging markets and exchanges across the globe. |
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| Bonds Online |
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| 5/10/2013Market Performance |
| Municipal Bonds |
|---|
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S&P National Bond Index
|
3.00% |
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S&P California Bond Index
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2.96% |
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S&P New York Bond Index
|
3.13% |
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S&P National 0-5 Year Municipal Bond Index
|
0.70% |
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| S&P/BGCantor US Treasury Bond |
400.09 |
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| More |
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| Income Equities: |
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| Preferred Stocks |
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S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index
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848.03 |
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S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index (CAD)
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636.26 |
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S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index (TR)
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1,701.05 |
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S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index (TR) (CAD)
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1,276.26 |
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| REITs |
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S&P REIT Index
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174.07 |
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S&P REIT Index (TR)
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425.30 |
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| MLPs |
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S&P MLP Index
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2,469.58 |
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S&P MLP Index (TR)
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5,428.50 |
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See Data
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Which Are Better? Muni Bonds or Tax Free CEFs |
benzina.com - Feb. 22, 2011 - by Fred Fuld
With the stock market volatility and uncertainty, and the possibility of future tax increases, many investors are turning to tax free bonds, also known as municipal bonds and munis, or they are choosing the alternative tax free income closed end funds, of which there are over 250 available according to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. When deciding which is the better way to go, investors should know the advantages and disadvantages of muni bonds versus closed end funds, generally referred to as CEFs.
Municipal bonds have always been popular with high income taxpayers, since the bonds provide income that is tax free from Federal income taxes. If the bond is issued from the state where the taxpayer lives or from one of the territories of the US such as Puerto Rico, Guam, or the Virgin Islands, then the income is also exempt from state taxes. Munis are generally issued by states, counties, cities, and other governmental entities such as school districts, sewer districts, and water and power departments.
One of the advantages of munis is that you can pick and choose what governmental agency you want to loan money to. Investors may be better off sticking with those that fund projects with guaranteed income streams such as bridge tolls.
In addition, bonds have a maturity date. Why is that important? It means that no matter how high interest rates go, and no matter how low the bonds drop in value, at maturity, the bonds are paid off at par.
There are some drawbacks though. Bonds carry a high minimum investment. Although munis are issued in $5,000 denominations, a round lot is generally considered by many brokerage firms to be $100,000.
Read more: http://www.benzinga.com/11/02/878761/which-are-better-muni-bonds-or-tax-free-cefs#ixzz1Ets0iJnc
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| BondsOnline Advisor |
Income Security Recommendation January 2013 Issue.
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