Municipal Bond Forum

I am 55, looking to retire and need to produce about $350,000 per year after-tax income from a muni-bond portfolio for the next 10 years, and then have it adjusted to cover cost-of-living increases as they occur. I would expect to live to 85 years, or about 30 years from now, which would be the investment horizon. I am a California resident and thus prefer a CA muni portfolio so that it is double tax-free here. How do YTMs (yield to maturities) on 20- to 30-year munis compare using out-of-state issues vs. CA issues, assuming comparable risk parameters? Is there a better annual cash-flow return from a national muni-portfolio if one were to relocate to a state like Florida? I have read your strategies page and have learned that committing to the highest yield instead of laddering (which is what most financial advisers suggest!), is the better strategy. Therefore, what is the best strategy to achieve this investment scale and how much time will it take to assemble such a portfolio?

S., California

Your website is full of excellent and useful information on investing in municipal bonds. I know your feelings on buying good quality bonds when the money is available for investment. In your tenured opinion, doesn’t it seem that rates just do not seem all that exciting at the moment? And I realize that you probably are constantly buying, but is there a rate at which you really step up and load the boat? Again, you guys do great work, and when you said that rates might peak out after the first rate increase, you could not have been more correct. I know that you do not time the market, but you were correct.

A.C., New Jersey

Curious what your strategy/opinion is on investing in long-term munis for a particular state, say Ohio, when you may move out of state in the future, say to New York. Is the loss of state-tax exemption a reason not to invest longer term? What do you recommend, hold or swap?

J.M.