Buy side

Muni bond mutual funds recorded their 19th straight week of outflows, at $690 million, as demand for tax-exempts stumbled.

Advisory firm Clark Capital Management Group created a new fund that uses munis to hedge against interest-rate risk and formed a partnership with longtime muni pro Jonathan Fiebach to run it.

The total net assets of tax-exempt money market funds dipped to $263.15 billion after $588.70 million of outflows in the week ended Sept. 30, the third consecutive decline, according to The Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

Clark Capital Management Group, a family- and employee-owned investment advisory firm that manages $3 billion in assets, appointed Main Point Advisors, Inc. to sub-advise its new Navigator Duration Neutral Bond Fund.

The municipal market is prepared to withstand a congressional impasse over raising the debt ceiling this month as a U.S. credit downgrade that roiled the tax-free market during the 2011 debate is considered unlikely to recur this time around.

After the Fed decided not to taper its stimulus program, muni investors may want to grab an airbag, as the market faces likely volatility in interest rates, fund flows, potential issuance and municipal bond relative attractiveness.

One asset Manager says that, contrary to conventional wisdom, when interest rates rise, municipal investors who try to limit their risk might be wise to not shorten the maturity on their bonds.

September long-term municipal bond volume fell 26% to its lowest since 2001, when terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon closed the markets for four days.

Bonds issued by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and related entities have experienced dramatic price swings since mid-August, amid shifting expectations about future supply and a growing media spotlight on the island's budget fundamentals.

The third quarter kicks off on Tuesday with municipal issuance expected to decline from last week, helping to keep supply and demand in balance.

Build America Mutual Assurance Co., the start-up mutual municipal bond insurer, is open for business in Florida.

The tax-exempt market posted its third consecutive week of gains as yields fell as much as nine basis points on municipal bonds.

The internet and laws fostering transparency have resulted in an environment where a plethora of information about municipal bonds is available.

Muni bond mutual fund outflows shrank to the least since late May, an indication that investor demand is trickling back to the marketplace.

The Bond Buyer's weekly yield indexes declined the week ended Sept. 26

Tax-exempt money market funds lost cash for a second straight week as $2.27 billion exited the industry and total net assets declined to $263.74 billion in the week ended Sept. 23, according to The Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

Unfunded pensions for government employees are a growing burden for municipalities across the nation, Moody's Investors Service said in a report Thursday.

Investortools has joined with Kalotay Analytics to give its municipal bond portfolio-manager clients a more accurate gauge to find prices as interest rates change.

The municipal bond industry’s total assets fell by $7.5 billion in the second quarter of 2013 to $3.721 trillion, while households reduced their ownership of tax-exempt securities by $15.5 billion to $1.647 trillion, according to the flow of funds data as of June 30 released today by the Federal Reserve Board.

Issuing municipal bonds is a complex process fraught with potential conflicts, Chris Mier, managing director of the analytical services division for Loop Capital Markets, told bond issuers here Wednesday.