Municipal Bond Forum

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.

I would like to get additional information about doing business with you. What do you charge on a transaction? How do you set up an account with you so that online purchasing is possible? Do you offer an online calculator that allows a client to look at the yield and tax savings at the same time?

M.J.

I am 70 years old and over funded in my IRA. I’m still working and have no need to touch my investments. Nevertheless, I am required to withdraw about $250,000 (minimum) this year. I believe I would do best in a tax-free mutual bond fund since the cost of buying such a small amount of bonds would be higher than if I were buying them in a fund. Am I correct?

S.M., New York

It appears to me that many bonds that are escrowed to maturity have yields significantly higher than those that are not escrowed. I have asked several local bond folks for an explanation and really haven’t gotten one that makes sense to me. I have to believe that higher yield means greater risk, but I am not clear as to what creates the apparent increased risk in these escrowed bonds. Can you help?

J.P.