Wells Fargo & Co.’s head muni strategist Vikram Rai says the tax-exempt status of bonds sold by state and local governments could be in jeopardy regardless of who wins the US elections in November.
Municipal bonds pay interest to investors that’s exempt from income taxes. Proposals to change that feature could emerge from either Democrats or Republicans, he said in a Monday report. The Obama administration, for example, proposed limiting the interest from municipal bonds that top earners can exclude from their taxable income.
“The possibility of such proposals being put forward again in the future in light of a worsening fiscal picture cannot be ignored as deficit reduction and/or tax reform moves forward,” according to Rai.
The silver lining is that limiting access to tax-exempt bonds boosts the value of existing muni debt, he said.
“At present, there is no threat whatsoever to the tax exemption of outstanding bonds,” Rai said in the report.
Rai also examined muni-bond yields versus Treasuries, which is used to assess valuations in the market. He said these ratios haven’t exhibited any clear patterns around the elections.
LPL recently has softened its antipathy to mainstream marketing.
The veteran independent broker-dealer executive brings crisis-tested leadership to the AI-powered data platform
Arax and Waverly also staged their own East Coast expansions by acquiring a family-owned practice and a Maryland-based wealth firm.
Portfolios are built for specific environments, but most investors are still positioned for one shaped by intervention and conditioning that may no longer exist.
Foundation for Financial Planning CEO tells InvestmentNews how the wirehouse’s wealth management division steps up to the plate for those in need.
As $84 trillion prepares to change hands, advisors who treat estate planning as peripheral are quietly building a sieve, not a book.
In volatile markets, the advisors who win aren't the ones with the best calls - they're the ones whose clients stay the course.
