January 3, 2020 – In a report issued this morning by BofA Securities (“BAS”), analysts Yingchen Li and Ian Rogow provided a look-back of the year that just went by in munis:

• 2019 was the third best-performing year since 2009, notching a 7.7% return not including taxes
• When Federal/Medicare taxes are included, the Muni Master Index returned 10.76% vs the ICE/BofA U.S. Treasury & Agency index return of 6.95% and Corporate Index of 14.23%
• For NYC residents, NYC tax-exempt bonds returned 12.8% on an after-tax basis or 545 basis points hiher than U.S. Treasuries
• For California Residents, California tax-exempt bonds returned 12.9%
• Sectors BAS identified as “strong performing sectors” included the 22+ year maturity index, BBB-rated, high yield and tobacco bonds
• Total issuance was $421 billion – led by education and general purpose related use of bond proceeds; as well as increased refunding issuance
• Florida overtook Illinois within the Top Five state issuers (in order: California, New York, Texas, Florida and Pennsylvania)

To review the full report, contact your Bank of America wealth management representatives at 1-800-637-7455.

Contact Kyle Skinner at KSkinner@buymuni.com