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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
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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
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3.13% |
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S&P National 0-5 Year Municipal Bond Index
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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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Put Intermediate Muni Funds In Your Portfolio’s Rotation |
Forbes.com - Aug. 11 2010 - by BARNET SHERMAN
Recently, I was catching up on some investment reading on asset allocation choices for the individual investor. Understandably, each model varied, taking into account the goals and circumstances of the particular client. I was particularly interested in asset allocations for the investor seeking more stability in both price and returns. This could be for either an existing taxable portfolio or building an investment portfolio through a long-term savings plan.
Going through the literature, a consistent theme emerged on that topic: allocate some percentage of assets to a short or intermediate fixed-income investment. Would intermediate-maturity municipal bonds be an investment vehicle to consider for this investor?
Most investors only think of municipal bonds and municipal bond mutual funds as a way to provide federally tax-exempt income to their taxable portfolios. Yet, this asset class has other characteristics that benefit investors. While credit quality may vary depending on a variety of factors, municipal bonds are generally high quality credits. Moreover, the intermediate part of the curve historically has posted positive returns.
An analysis of the 10-year and 5-year returns of the Barclays Municipal 5-Year, 7-Year and 10-Year Indices bears this out—each had positive returns over those periods. The Barclays Municipal Bond Indices (referred to in the trade as the BarCap Muni Indices) are an industry standard family of benchmarks that many mutual funds and managed accounts measure themselves against. Other widely recognized indices are the Standard & Poor’s/InvestorTools Municipal Bond Indices and the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Municipal Master Index.
Special Offer: Fat Yields! Interest rates are low but high yields are abundant if you know where to look. Click here for instant access to the Forbes/ISA Closed-End Fund & ETF Report.
These short-intermediate and intermediate indices are comprised of shorter duration bonds with average maturities of 4-6 years, 6-8 years and 8-12 years, respectively. Nearly any investment will fluctuate in value; however, under general market conditions, shorter-duration bonds have exhibited less price volatility than long-maturity bonds with correspondingly longer durations.
For the complete article visit Forbes.com
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| Stuff to look at |
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| BondsOnline Advisor |
Income Security Recommendation January 2013 Issue.
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