- Strategists cite backup in yields, end of election uncertainty
- Back a barbell strategy focused on short-, longer-term debt
BlackRock Inc.’s strategists, who three months ago advised investors to pull back from municipal bonds, now say it’s time to shift back in.
The selloff that raced through fixed-income markets last month drove state and local government debt to the steepest loss in over a year, pushing yields higher as strong economic data and the presidential election cast uncertainty over how deeply the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates.
But with yields still elevated — and prices settling from the turbulence set off by Donald Trump’s victory last week — BlackRock strategists led by Patrick Haskell said in a note Thursday that it’s a good time to lock in the higher yields before the central bank starts nudging rates down further. They suggest a so-called barbell strategy focused on holding both short-dated debt and those with maturities in 15 to 20 years.
Bloomberg Markets
By Nic Querolo
November 14, 2024 at 11:37 AM PST