A little more than a year ago, before the global pandemic reared its head, high-yield municipal bonds were very expensive.
At that time, “U.S. investors did better after tax in high-yield corporates than in high-yield munis,” recalls David Hammer, an executive vice president at asset manager Pimco who oversees the firm’s stable of muni-bond funds. “That doesn’t happen very often.”
Keenly assessing the municipal-bond market, whether it’s scooping up a beaten-down security or sizing up how risky a portfolio should be, has been the singular focus of Hammer, 42, since he was a novice trader in 2004. Nowadays, he oversees about $53 billion of assets dedicated to muni bonds at Pimco.
Barron’s
By Lawrence C. Strauss
March 3, 2021 7:00 am ET