Many of the best tips for investing in municipal bonds revolve around understanding the general costs and benefits, as well as the risks, of bond investing, and also finding out about the specifics that surround a bond that is issued by a given municipality. When counties, cities, or other municipalities issue bonds for projects, these get transferred into investor opportunities with interest related gains, but not all municipal bonds are created equal or carry the same risks. Investors can use proactive research to look at which specific municipal bonds will profit them the most.
One big tip for investing in municipal bonds is to understand the tax burdens of these bond offers. Professionals explain that some kinds of municipal bonds may be exempt from local or state taxes. This makes municipal bonds a big draw for investors who want to limit “tax drag” on a portfolio, as long as they understand the rules for their jurisdiction.
Those who are interested in investing in municipal bonds should also understand the risks that go along with these kinds of investments. In the past, some traders thought of municipal bond interest gains as a “sure thing,” believing that municipalities would almost never default or be unable to repay a loan. In recent years, some events in municipalities like Jefferson County, Alabama, as well as many state budget catastrophes, have shown that some municipalities may indeed default on loans, pushing up the risks of some categories of municipal bonds.
Investors who want to be sure they are picking the best municipal bonds can look at a wide variety of different investing options to get involved in receiving interest from municipal bond offers. Single bonds are traded through exchanges or alternately, through over the counter (OTC) markets, where regulations and monitoring are often different. Some other items called “bond funds” offer an investor exposure to multiple municipal bonds through a publicly exchange-traded fund. These funds can be easier to use, and they also may provide more stability and less volatility or risk than a single bond.
In general, investors need to look forward toward bond maturity, thinking about how much they will stand to gain, how much they will pay in taxes, and how much they will pay in costs to the fund manager, brokerage firm, and other parties that “deliver” these opportunities for investing in municipal bonds. Potential customers can consider how the bond was set up, and why. They can assess the “financial health” of the municipality, often through direct research, especially if they happen to live in or near that municipality. Choosing the best municipal bonds involves careful thought about what is likely to happen in a local economy.