What is BlackRock Municipal Bond Fund?
The BlackRock National Municipal Fund falls into Morningstar’s Muni National Intermediate category. This category includes funds investing in intermediate-term muni bonds, which generally have maturities in the five- to 12-year range. The fund’s top holdings are in municipal bonds.
Are municipal bond funds a good investment now?
The U.S. municipal bond fund market brought in an estimated $56.9 billion in net new money during the first half of 2021, according to Refinitiv Lipper data. These assets may offer tax benefits and low default risk, as well as inflation protection.
Can municipal bonds funds lose value?
Money Market Funds. Kesavan Balasubramaniam is a freelance writer who covers a wide array of investing topics, including retirement, FX trading, and small business.
What is a municipal loan?
Municipal loans, also known as bank loans or direct placements, refers to financing provided to State and local governments by a bank. Municipal loans are generally issued to finance capital projects and equipment.
Why are municipal bonds dropping?
Muni-bond prices have plunged amid concern about renewed inflation, a flood of supply from issuers and speculation that Congressional Republicans, after winning control of the U.S. House in the Nov. 2 midterm elections, will block aid to cities and states.
Are municipal bonds good for retirement?
Even though municipal bond interest could bump some seniors into an income category where they’re taxed on Social Security and liable for higher Medicare premiums, municipal bonds are still a good investment to hold in retirement.
What are municipal bond funds?
Municipal bonds (or “munis” for short) are debt securities issued by states, cities, counties and other governmental entities to fund day-to-day obligations and to finance capital projects such as building schools, highways or sewer systems. Generally, the interest on municipal bonds is exempt from federal income tax.
How are municipal bonds paid back?
When you buy a municipal bond, you are loaning money to the issuer in exchange for a set number of interest payments over a predetermined period. At the end of that period, the bond reaches its maturity date, and the full amount of your original investment is returned to you.
Which municipal bonds are tax-exempt?
Corporate Bonds. Bonds used to fund local and state government projects like buildings and highways are afforded tax-exempt status at the federal level. Plus, people who purchase bonds issued by their states or localities may not be required to pay state or local taxes on the interest.
Why are municipal bonds going down?
Is Blackrock a good investment?
Since going public in 1999, the asset management firm known as BlackRock Inc. ( NYSE :BLK) has been the best investment of the 21st century. Yes, it’s better than Amazon.com, Inc. ( NASDAQ :AMZN), a lot better. It’s up 2,670% in that time, and it has been paying dividends in a rising stream since 2003.
What does Blackrock invest in?
Invest in one or more fixed income sectors and may utilize leverage to enhance income potential. BlackRock offerings include investment grade, high yield, bank loan and multi-sector funds. Equity funds. Invest in stocks and may utilize an option overwrite strategy to enhance income potential.
Is municipal bond fund taxable?
Interest from municipal bonds issued to finance projects with no obvious public benefits is taxable since the federal government will not subsidize the financing of these projects.
Are municipal bond ETFs worth the risks?
Muni Bond ETFs (and US government bonds) are a type of bond ETF that tend to have a lower risk when compared to other bond ETFs like corporate bond funds. Since the bond is backed by a local government, investors feel safer that the government won’t default whereas a corporation may go out of business and default.