Municipal and Tax Advantaged Bonds
Municipal bonds offer tax-exempt income that can be especially valuable for investors in higher tax brackets. These articles explain how munis work, the difference between general obligation and revenue bonds, how to evaluate credit quality, and when the tax advantages make munis a better choice than taxable alternatives.
Disclosure Requirements and EMMA Filings
Municipal disclosure is voluntary and uneven. Learn to navigate EMMA, interpret the 14 reportable events, assess disclosure quality, and identify red flags that signal credit deterioration before rating agencies act.
Essential Service Revenue Streams
Analyze water, sewer, electric, and transportation revenue bonds through the essentiality lens that explains why some revenue streams maintained payments through Detroit and Jefferson County bankruptcies.
Territorial Bond Lessons for Investors
What Puerto Rico's restructuring and other territorial defaults reveal about unique risks in non-state municipal bonds.
Using SMAs vs ETFs for Municipal Exposure
Compare separately managed accounts and ETFs for municipal bond exposure, weighing tax efficiency, customization, liquidity, and minimum investment requirements.
Refundings and Escrowed-to-Maturity Issues
Master the mechanics of municipal bond refundings, escrowed-to-maturity structures, and how the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act reshaped refinancing strategies.
Credit Analysis for State vs. Local Issuers
State and local municipal credits have systematically different risk profiles. Master the key metrics for each issuer type: pension funding ratios, rainy day reserves, tax base concentration, and the state-local aid relationship.
High-Yield Municipals and Credit Work
Why below-investment-grade municipal bonds demand rigorous credit analysis, and how to distinguish distressed opportunities from value traps.
529 Plan-Linked Municipal Securities
529 plan-linked municipal securities merge education savings and tax strategy; understanding their mechanics and risks is critical for optimizing returns.
Glossary of Municipal Bond Terms
Essential municipal bond terminology defined with precision. From AMT to yield-to-worst, the vocabulary you need for muni investing.
Understanding Bond Insurance and Enhancements
Evaluate bond insurance economics in the post-2008 market where Assured Guaranty and BAM control 100% of new issuance, and learn when insurance adds value versus when you're overpaying.
Liquidity Considerations in Municipal Bonds
Master the unique liquidity dynamics of municipal securities. Learn bid-ask spread patterns, retail vs. institutional pricing, and strategies to avoid being trapped in illiquid positions.
Build America Bonds: History and Lessons
Explore the landmark Build America Bonds program that transformed municipal finance. Learn how BABs worked, why they attracted new investors, and what the experiment teaches about infrastructure funding.
Monitoring Legislative Risk for Tax Changes
Track legislative developments that could alter municipal bond tax treatment, with frameworks for assessing probability, timing, and portfolio impact.
Infrastructure Financing via Municipal Bonds
Understand how states and localities fund bridges, water systems, and transit through municipal debt. Learn the revenue pledges, credit structures, and risk factors that shape infrastructure bond investing.
Evaluating Hospital, Education, and Transportation Deals
Analyze sector-specific revenue bonds with frameworks for hospital credit metrics, education enrollment risk, and transportation demand stress testing.
Tax-Equivalent Yield Calculations
Calculate true after-tax returns with precise formulas for federal, state, and NIIT tax savings, including worked examples for high-tax states like California and New York.
General Obligation vs Revenue Bonds
Master the fundamental distinction between GO and revenue bonds through Detroit's bankruptcy lens, where ULTGO bondholders recovered 75 cents while water/sewer revenue bonds paid 100%.
AMT-Subject Municipal Bonds
Private activity bonds are subject to Alternative Minimum Tax, reducing their after-tax yield for high-income investors. Learn how to calculate your AMT cushion and determine whether PAB premiums compensate for the tax impact.
Default Case Studies in the Municipal Market
Learn from Detroit, Puerto Rico, Jefferson County, and other major municipal defaults to understand how credit risk manifests and what warning signs to watch for.
State-Specific Fund Strategies
State-specific municipal bond funds—portfolios concentrated in a single state's issuers—show up in high-tax-state portfolios as the difference between keeping 50 cents or 63 cents of every dollar o...