Muni bond inflows heating up

Money flowing into municipal bond mutual funds more than doubled to $420 million in the week ended Oct. 20, according to Lipper FMI, a mutual fund research firm. Inflows rose from $168 million in the prior week, marking the second consecutive weekly gain after four weeks of declines from $933 million in the period ended Sept. 8, the data showed. Yields on tax-exempt 10-year bonds rose to 2.33 percent on Oct. 20 from 2.28 percent on Oct. 13, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The rising yields attracted more investors into municipal-bond funds, said Chris Holmes, a fixed-income strategist for JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York. “All things considered, this is the kind of inflow we expect to see through year-end,” Holmes said.