Municipal Monthly

Monthly Municipal Market Update, August 2022

A brief update on what's happening in the municipal bond market.

Figure 1 is a table showing AAA Municipal Market Data (MMD) yields, U.S. Treasury yields, and taxable-equivalent municipal yields as of August month-end, specifically at the two-year, five-year, 10-year and 30-year tenors of each curve. Municipals sold off sharply in August, in sympathy with Treasuries, and the front end of the AAA Municipal Market Data (MMD) curve inverted for a brief period amid hawkish Fed signaling. The table shows that taxable-equivalent yields on AAA municipal bonds ranged from 3.85% for the 2-year tenor to 5.56% for the 30-year tenor in August. Taxable-equivalent yield assumes 37% federal income tax and 3.8% Medicare investment tax. A separate box below the table includes data showing that municipal issuance increased by $6.5 billion month-over-month. Finally, the chart shows year-to-date returns for both investment grade munis and high yield munis, each of which have experienced negative returns.

August month in review

Following a strong start to the month, U.S. equities experienced a sharp sell-off in the latter half of August amid heightened expectations for aggressive Federal Reserve (Fed) rate hikes; ultimately, all three major equity indices closed the month in the red. Hawkish signals from the Fed also drove the U.S. Treasury curve to experience a bear flattener. The 1-, 5-, 10- and 30-year tenors of the Treasury curve closed the month at 3.48% (+53 bps), 3.27% (+60 bps), 3.12% (+50 bps), and 3.24% (+28 bps), respectively.

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Tax Loss Harvesting and Muni Bonds

Tax Loss Harvesting and Muni Bonds

Municipal bond yields have more than doubled this year, and valuations look attractive. David Hammer, head of municipal bond portfolio management, and John Nersesian, head of advisor education, discuss today’s muni opportunities and the benefits of tax loss harvesting.

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Disclosures

Past performance is not a guarantee or a reliable indicator of future results.

A word about risk: Investing in municipal bonds involves the risks of investing in debt securities generally and certain other risks. Investors will, at times, incur a tax liability. Income from municipal bonds may be subject to state and local taxes and at times the alternative minimum tax. Investing in the bond market is subject to risks, including market, interest rate, issuer, credit, inflation risk, and liquidity risk. The value of most bonds and bond strategies are impacted by changes in interest rates. Bonds and bond strategies with longer durations tend to be more sensitive and volatile than those with shorter durations; bond prices generally fall as interest rates rise, and the current low interest rate environment increases this risk. Current reductions in bond counterparty capacity may contribute to decreased market liquidity and increased price volatility. Bond investments may be worth more or less than the original cost when redeemed. An investment in municipal closed-end funds will be subject to market risk, leverage risk, and various other risks depending upon the underlying assets owned by a fund. Equities may decline in value due to both real and perceived general market, economic, and industry conditions. High-yield, lower-rated, securities involve greater risk than higher-rated securities; portfolios that invest in them may be subject to greater levels of credit and liquidity risk than portfolios that do not. Derivatives may involve certain costs and risks such as liquidity, interest rate, market, credit, management and the risk that a position could not be closed when most advantageous. Investing in derivatives could lose more than the amount invested.

References to specific securities and their issuers are not intended and should not be interpreted as recommendations to purchase, sell or hold such securities. PIMCO products and strategies may or may not include the securities referenced and, if such securities are included, no representation is being made that such securities will continue to be included.

The credit quality of a particular security or group of securities does not ensure the stability or safety of an overall portfolio. The quality ratings of individual issues/issuers are provided to indicate the credit-worthiness of such issues/issuer and generally range from AAA, Aaa, or AAA (highest) to D, C, or D (lowest) for S&P, Moody’s, and Fitch respectively.

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Forecasts, estimates and certain information contained herein are based on proprietary research and should not be interpreted as investment advice, as an offer or solicitation, nor as the purchase or sale of any financial instrument. Forecasts and estimates have certain inherent limitations, and unlike an actual performance record, do not reflect actual trading, liquidity constraints, fees, and/or other costs. In addition, references to future results should not be construed as an estimate or promise of results that a client portfolio may achieve.

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Bloomberg Municipal Bond Index consists of a broad selection of investment-grade general obligation and revenue bonds of maturities ranging from one year to 30 years. It is an unmanaged index representative of the tax-exempt bond market. The index is made up of all investment grade municipal bonds issued after 12/31/90 having a remaining maturity of at least one year. The Bloomberg High Yield Municipal Bond Index measures the non-investment grade and non-rated U.S. tax-exempt bond market. It is an unmanaged index made up of dollar-denominated, fixed-rate municipal securities that are rated Ba1/BB+/BB+ or below or non-rated and that meet specified maturity, liquidity, and quality requirements. The Bloomberg Taxable Municipal Index represents a rules-based, market-value weighted index engineered for the long-term taxable bond market. For inclusion in the Index, bonds must be rated investment grade quality or better, have at least one year to maturity, have a coupon that is fixed rate, have an outstanding par value of at least $7 million, and be issued as part of a transaction of at least $75 million. The Intermediate Municipal subsector groups together securities with an average maturity between one to 10 years. The Bloomberg 1-10 Year Municipal Bond Index is an unmanaged index considered to be generally representative of investment-grade municipal issues having remaining maturities from 1-10 years and a national scope. The Bloomberg Muni Short (1-5) Index is the Muni Short (1-5) component of the Bloomberg Municipal Bond Index. It is not possible to invest directly in an unmanaged index.

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CMR2022-0912-2413741