Buy side

Some in the industry already use AI to help determine fair bid and offer prices and to summarize new-issue offering statements, but full integration into all aspects of the market is a ways away.

Municipal bond mutual fund inflows returned as Refinitiv Lipper reported investors added $672.288 million for the week ending Wednesday following $256.532 million of outflows the week prior.

Federal Reserve data shows that retail ownership of municipals rose $58.8 billion, or 3.7% quarter-over-quarter, to $1.67 trillion. Bank ownership fell in the first quarter by $13.3 billion.

Reinvestments, which includes maturities, called bonds and coupons, total over $114 billion over the next four months, according to ICE Data.

"Ultimately, the case for fixed income generally, and munis specifically, is much stronger today than it was a year ago," said Nick Vendetti, municipal bond fund portfolio manager with Allspring Global Investments.

Brightline's luxury train in Florida accounts for half of the Nuveen High Yield Municipal Bond Fund's top 10 positions.

Despite legislation and political rhetoric, demand for environmental, social, and governance focused debt remains strong.

JPMorgan's move to acquire First Republic and its muni portfolio eases the risk of nearly $20 billion of munis flooding the market.

While Nuveen is a storied and well-respected institution in our business, it did not define John Miller.

Except for the riskiest sectors, high-yield credit fundamentals appear to be strong, but rising interest rates and fund outflows are dampening primary and secondary market activity.