The Take
on what the market gives us…
The Underlying Issue: Credit ETFs Are Tipping Their Pitches
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March 31, 2021
After experiencing the intra-day volatility of the past year, including the flows in recent weeks, Credit ETFs are tipping their pitches, and the awareness of dealers/buy-side traders is enhancing daily price volatility. Read More
Do Androids Dream of Rising Rates?
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March 17, 2021
Rising inflation and the ballooning of government deficits have bond investors concerned about runaway Treasury yields. While investor sentiment regarding interest rates remains weak, several ancillary market signals suggest that the worst-case scenarios are improbable. Read More
Divestment or Engagement?
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March 15, 2021
For investors seeking change, which strategy is more effective, divestment or engagement? Read More
Muni ESG – Even Better Than Good
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March 11, 2021
Municipal bonds make the world go round. These altruistic securities are often issued to finance schools, roads, bridges, hospitals, and water treatment facilities, to name a few. For this former credit analyst, municipal bonds couldn’t possibly offer more. Or could they? For the discerning investor, we believe the answer is yes. Read More
525,600 Minutes
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March 4, 2021
As many of us approach the anniversaries of our last working days in formal office settings, let’s take a few moments to reflect back. What a year, 525,600 moments so dear... Read More
Wall Street*, the Government, and Racial Bias
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February 26, 2021
I recently learned that New York City’s Wall Street isn’t just the home of a famous stock exchange -- it was also the site of the City’s first slave exchange. Despite the financial industry and government’s history of racial bias, it’s heartening to see signs of substantive change. Read More
The GameStop Effect on Credit Markets
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February 5, 2021
The technical tug-of-war over GameStop shares has spread to the credit markets, where many are asking how the price action can be justified in light of little change to the fundamental outlook. Read More
Don’t Throw the Deep Ball
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January 28, 2021
With heavy longer bond issuance, there have been many short end tenders and calls, creating opportunity and in some cases, windfalls. Read More
The Bond Market’s Barbed Wire
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January 20, 2021
The bond market has a complicated relationship with liquidity. While the Federal Reserve's recent liquidity injections have been well telegraphed, larger and less understood trends are at hand. In this piece, we look at the impact of recently implemented regulations on the primary dealers' business models and how they've adjusted to maintain ample market-making liquidity. Read More
ESG Lessons from 2020 as we move into 2021
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January 8, 2021
Many asset owners are taking the lessons learned in 2020 and looking forward to a more sustainable and inclusive 2021 and beyond. Read More