Muni Bond Funds Rake It In for a Ninth Straight Week

Municipal bond mutual funds continued their hot streak. As the market saw modest firming on the week, muni bond funds saw inflows for a ninth consecutive week.

They recorded $365 million of inflows from funds that report their flows weekly for the week ended June 13, according to Lipper FMI.

The numbers fell from those of the previous week. There were net inflows of $593 million the week ended June 6. The market has now seen positive flows for 38 of the past 41 weeks.

Muni bond funds are up $21.8 billion on the year to date through June 13. Over the same period, long-term muni bond funds are up $9.4 billion, while high-yield funds are up $4.5 billion.

The uptick in volume this week arrived with few small concessions. Traders noted that the new issuance was priced well and absorbed.

Tax-exempt yields fell slightly on the intermediate and long ends of the curve; they narrowly outperformed their Treasury cousins. Muni ratios to Treasuries remain cheap, with maturities across the curve all settling above 105% by Thursday’s close.

Investors also have wheelbarrows full of redemption money that will need a home. And they seem largely wary of equities’ performance, of late.

This past week, assets for all funds that report their flows weekly fell to $299.09 billion from $299.21 billion the previous week. It was the first decrease reported since the week ended March 21.

The value of the holdings for weekly reporting funds fell by $481 million. The week before, they rose by $212 million.

The four-week moving average for all municipal bond mutual funds that report their flows weekly saw a $483 million inflow, down somewhat from a $593 million gain the week before.

Long-term bond funds continued to see hefty inflows, in fact, the bulk of the overall figure for muni bond funds. Long-term bond funds that report their flows weekly saw inflows to the tune of $318 million. That compares with $291 million the week before.

High-yield muni funds posted a strong week. They have seen inflows for 12 consecutive weeks, and 26 of the previous 27 weeks.

Funds that report weekly saw $165 million in inflows, Lipper said. The previous week, high-yield funds reported $182 million in inflows.

Assets for high-yield funds that report their flows weekly increased to $40.65 billion, up from $40.53 billion the previous week.

The value of the holdings for weekly reporting funds decreased by $48.4 million. Last week, they rose by $147.2 million.

The four-week moving average for all high-yield muni bond funds that report their flows weekly was a $163 million inflow, down from a $179 million inflow the week before.

 

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Fixed income
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