Buy side

Municipal Market analytics hired Marvis Gutierrez in response to growing demand for the firm's services and plans to keep hiring. 

Carving up risk allows buyers who normally shy away from junk bonds to buy the pooled securities.

"While the shutdown will eventually be resolved, present circumstances may catalyze tactical investment opportunities as a way to capture even more compelling yield and income opportunities," said Jeff Lipton, municipal market intelligence analyst for The Bond Buyer.

Sophisticated issuers and investors shared insights into how they navigate the complexities of the municipal bond market at The Bond Buyer Infrastructure event.

Retail offerings from California and Connecticut led the market Wednesday.

Secondary selling pressure and the larger calendar weighed on the market Tuesday.

Capital Group joins a small, but growing number of shops that have added, or considered adding, muni ETFs to their model portfolios.

Walter O'Connor's decades-long tenure as a municipal bond portfolio manager at BlackRock will come to an end next year. 

A mix of broader market dynamics and Chicago-specific pressures is driving the widening spreads, investors said.

"We are expecting a lot of interest in the offering next week," said Geoff Urbina, managing director, KeyBanc Capital Markets Public Finance.

"It doesn't take but one comment or one market-moving data point to cause ETFs to shift the market pretty considerably," said Ajay Thomas, head of public finance at FHN Financial.

"Another set of eyes helps improve the deal for everybody, including the borrower, because the borrower is going to want a successful venture too," said John Miller, head and chief investment officer of First Eagle's municipal credit team.

"Rural hospitals were already uninvestible, in our mind," Columbia Threadneedle's Shannon Rinehart said. "What this has done is blow up any chance they have."

Through June 30, BAM insured 11 transactions with par of $100 million or more, with four more deals coming since then, the company said.

The largest investors in the Brightline Florida train have negotiated new terms ahead of an Aug. 13 repayment deadline.

The risk Brightline Florida poses to the rest of the high-yield market may manifest in fund flows, investors said.

Some bondholders have retained legal counsel while others are in the dark about the company's plans.

Investors are watching an Aug. 13 refinancing on $985 million of bonds for proposed commuter line projects with southern Florida counties.

The fund's sell-off in June shows the challenges of accurate pricing in the high-yield muni market.

Larger dealer networks lead to lower markups, but smaller networks show evidence of potential collusion and market manipulation, the paper said.