Buy side

After weeks of either net outflows or only modest inflows, tax-exempt money market funds recaptured $3.13 billion of net gains as total net assets grew to $260.97 billion in the week ended June 10, according to The Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

A difficult May in the municipal bond market has put investors on the defensive.

Roberto Roffo, a 20-year asset management veteran, has joined Advisors Asset Management as a senior vice president and portfolio manager as the firm plans to enhance its tax-exempt management initiatives.

Slowly rising Treasury yields and modest activity are pulling muni yields higher as the day's trading session crossed the halfway point.

The municipal market had little momentum to propel it forward to start the week.

Investors pulled more money from municipal bond mutual funds than they have all year as funds that report flows weekly recorded outflows of $1.47 billion for the week ending June 5.

Muni money funds continue to struggle to recoup the billions they lost this year — particulary around income tax season — and the arrival this week of $411 million is not much of a boost.

Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management unveiled two exchange-traded funds Tuesday that are the first devoted entirely to infrastructure revenue bonds and regulated utilities.

Michael K. Farr, president of Farr, Miller & Washington, delivers a yield kick to his savvy retail clients via market inefficiencies in the secondary market to offset the lack of return in the plain-vanilla market.

Note season will get underway this week with a $1 billion sale of tax and revenue anticipation notes from Los Angeles County, while the commonwealth of Massachusetts will also sell $1 billion of general obligation debt amid more than $5 billion of expected new volume.

Issuance numbers for long-term municipal bonds in May continued to underwhelm market expectations, decreasing 28% for the month.

Muni bond mutual fund flows fell back into the red at $157 million, entering territory they occupied for most of the spring.

Outflows among tax-exempt money market funds continued to fluctuate in the week ended May 27 as $1.84 billion fled the industry and total net assets settled at $257.43 billion, according to The Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

Academy Securities, an investment bank with a municipal business started by a retired naval officer, wants to put those who've served in the armed forces to work in the securities industry.

A $500 million offering from NY's MTA is among the $4 billion of new issuance estimated to be priced this week as investors scramble to find bonds ahead of the heavy upcoming June 1 redemption date.

The tax-exempt market traded softer every session this week as buyers refused to put money to work at such high prices.

Income improvements among mortgage insurers this year are a credit positive for housing finance agency single family whole loan programs, according to Moody's.

Flows into municipal bond mutual funds scraped and clawed into positive territory the week of May 22, at $63 million.

Flows into tax-exempt money market funds continued to see-saw this week as $906.5 million arrived in the week ended May 20, according to The Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

Aside from an $800 million New York City general obligation refunding planned for Wednesday, there will be few large deals to grab investors' attention in the municipal market this week as approximately $5 billion in new issuance is expected on the heels of a quiet end to last week's activity.