While it is often difficult in times of uncertainty and market stress to take advantage of market dislocations like we are seeing now, history has shown that doing so can be a meaningful source of wealth creation as investors seek to reach their long-term investment goals in the years ahead.

Our CEO, Andrew Clinton, was recently featured in an article with InvestmentNews, discussing the inefficiencies and opportunities of municipal fixed income.

Given the substantial increase in market volatility in the past few weeks, we wanted to take a moment to provide some context and recent economic data that could be helpful as investors consider the best path forward.

As we consider the many dimensions of the broader marketplace, it is clear investors have imperfect information from which to draw firm conclusions and plan their next move. The only thing we know with certainty, is that the outlook is uncertain.

The year 2024 proved to be quite volatile for fixed income investors, as yields fell dramatically from their heights in 2023, then rose again in the fourth quarter (Q4), closing the year within a stone’s throw of the highest levels of the year.

Our CEO, Andrew Clinton, recently appeared on Asset TV in coordination with MMI to deliver a municipal bond masterclass. Watch here to learn more about the municipal bond market and our current outlook.

As we look out over the last quarter of 2024 and into 2025, what we know with certainty is that the direction of financial markets, the broader economy, and the geopolitical landscape will remain highly uncertain.

When the Fed begins to cut interest rates, next month, as markets now expect, it will likely be the first of a series of cuts, rather an isolated event.

Municipal credit quality remains stable, and the muni curve remains steep providing an attractive opportunity to extend duration and pick up yield by increasing weightings to lower investment grade and below investment grade munis.