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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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Are Municipal Bonds Part of Your Investment Toolkit? |
MORNINGSTAR - August 28, 2011 - By Christine Benz
Readers opine about the risk and rewards of investing in traditional muni funds, individual muni bonds, and muni CEFs.
Long a sleepy area of the investment universe, municipal bonds made headlines in late 2010 and early 2011, when bank analyst Meredith Whitney warned 60 Minutes viewers that the sector was facing down a huge wave of defaults.
Those defaults have yet to materialize, however, and munis have actually performed decently thus far this year after struggling in late 2010 and early 2011. And judging from their responses to my query in Morningstar.com's Investing During Retirement forum, many Morningstar.com investors still believe in the asset class' viability as a source of tax-free income.
At the same time, investors have taken disparate paths to gain their muni exposure. Some have favored traditional open-end municipal bond funds, while others have ventured into the closed-end fund universe, attracted by CEFs' abilities to employ leverage to amp up income. Other posters have opted for individual muni bonds, citing the ability to hold the bonds until maturity and shield against principal losses as a key attraction.
Still others are staying away from munis altogether, not because of credit worries but simply because their tax bracket makes taxable bonds more advantageous than munis. (Muni investors don't pay federal tax on their income--and in some cases the income is exempt from state and local tax, too. However, muni income is typically lower than is the case for taxable bonds of a similar maturity and credit quality.) To read the complete thread, or chime in with your own views, click here.
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| Stuff to look at |
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| BondsOnline Advisor |
Income Security Recommendation January 2013 Issue.
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