iShares National Muni Bond ETF

MUB

Börsenwert 49,2 Mrd. $

Bonds are paying the best yields in years and still dragging portfolios into the red, leaving investors scrambling for a defensive asset that actually defends. A growing group of Wall Street managers thinks the answer involves shorting Treasuries outright.

U.S. bond yields are rising, providing an increasingly attractive alternative to pricey stocks. Trump's unorthodox policy may be causing this trend to accelerate.

State income taxes can quietly erase a meaningful slice of municipal bond interest even when federal taxes are off the table. Where you live and which bonds you own may matter far more than most income investors realize.

Trading activity on the Tradeweb European ETF marketplace reached EUR 69 billion in September, the second-highest level recorded for the month. Six of the ten most actively traded ETFs in September were equity-based, with two gold ETCs and two short-dated fixed income funds making up the remainder. Total consolidated U.S. ETF notional value traded in September reached USD 122 billion, up 52% year-over-year.

The global competition for capital remains the key dynamic keeping yields elevated. Notably, all of the September increase in 10-year Treasury yields came from real yields, as implied by the TIPS market.

September's fixed income sell-off marked a watershed moment for muni bond markets, delivering the steepest drawdown since the 2008 Great Financial Crisis. As benchmark yields spiked, prices across muni ETFs fell in tandem, and the volatility has not let up.

Japan, Europe, and the U.S. were feeling the fallout from France, where yields on its benchmark 10-year note climbed closer to 5%, the highest since 2002.

Municipal bonds just sold off hard over the last month, and many big-yield muni-bond CEFs (with yields over 8%) sold off even harder. This article shares data on 5 top big-yield muni-bond CEFs, with a special focus on the Nuveen Quality Municipal Income Fund. After explaining the selloff, big risks, and tax consequences (particularly related to anyone receiving Medicare or Affordable Care Act subsidies), the article concludes with a strong opinion on investing.

BND has lost ground in price for five years straight, yet something has quietly shifted inside the fund that changes what the next five years could look like for anyone holding it today.

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