primeimages/E+ via Getty Images Investment objective The fund seeks tax-free income. Fund facts Fund AUM ($M) 1,583.13 Click to enlarge Portfolio managers Timothy O'Reilly, Julius Williams, Mark Paris, Michael Magee, Rebecca Setcavage Class Y shares ( ORSYX ): Best among 28 Short Municipal Debt Funds for the 10-year period ending November 30, 2024, based on consistently strong risk-adjusted perfor...
primeimages/E+ via Getty Images Investment objective The fund seeks tax-free income. Fund facts Fund AUM ($M) 1,583.13 Click to enlarge Portfolio managers Timothy O'Reilly, Julius Williams, Mark Paris, Michael Magee, Rebecca Setcavage Class Y shares ( ORSYX ): Best among 28 Short Municipal Debt Funds for the 10-year period ending November 30, 2024, based on consistently strong risk-adjusted performance. Manager perspective and outlook In the fourth quarter, investment grade, high yield and taxable municipals delivered positive returns of 1.42%, 1.11% and 1.05%, with annual returns of 4.25%, 2.46% and 7.89%, respectively. 1 Despite a lengthy federal government shutdown, long-duration municipal bonds performed well during the quarter, bolstering market strength. 1 New municipal issuance reached $143 billion for the quarter and a record $584 billion for the year, surpassing last year's record $509 billion. Shifting interest rate policies, higher costs and political uncertainty likely encouraged more issuers to come to market. 1 Net flows for municipal mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) were strong, totaling approximately $17.5 billion for the quarter and $52.4 billion for the year. 2 The US Federal Reserve (Fed) cut the federal funds rate twice, by 0.25% in October and 0.25% in December. The Fed reiterated its commitment to balancing maximum employment and a 2% inflation target. 3 We believe state and local municipal budgets remain healthy. While credit rating upgrades have moderated, upgrades outpaced downgrades in 2025, demonstrating to us strong fundamentals. 4 Our experienced credit research team continues to seek out market dislocations, uncovering opportunities to add value for shareholders. Looking ahead, we see attractive opportunities in municipals. With prospects for more Fed interest rate cuts, steady issuance and ongoing demand for tax-exempt income, we believe high absolute yields and solid fundamentals make municipals a compelling choice. Top h...
TexBr/iStock via Getty Images By Deepali Bhargava , Regional Head of Research, Asia-Pacific National emergency declared as oil shock intensifies Oil shortages and persistently high crude prices have become a significant macroeconomic headwind for the Philippines, prompting the government to declare a national emergency. The country is among the most oil‑dependent economies in the region, with ener...
TexBr/iStock via Getty Images By Deepali Bhargava , Regional Head of Research, Asia-Pacific National emergency declared as oil shock intensifies Oil shortages and persistently high crude prices have become a significant macroeconomic headwind for the Philippines, prompting the government to declare a national emergency. The country is among the most oil‑dependent economies in the region, with energy consumption overwhelmingly reliant on imported petroleum. Domestic crude production is negligible, and over 95% of oil imports come from the Persian Gulf, leaving the Philippines exposed to both price swings and supply disruptions. The transportation sector is the largest consumer of oil products, meaning fuel costs feed directly through to logistics and household expenses. This vulnerability is further aggravated by limited domestic fuel reserves, with the energy secretary noting that the country has roughly 45 days of diesel supply remaining. Government response: securing supply and providing targeted relief In response, authorities have begun to secure alternative supply sources, including a 700k‑barrel shipment from Russia. Yet with national consumption estimated at 450-487k barrels per day, this volume would cover only a few days of demand unless additional shipments are secured from Russia or China. Unlike several Southeast Asian neighbours, such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, the Philippines maintains fully market‑linked retail fuel prices with no broad-based subsidies. As a result, pump prices have more than doubled since the start of the conflict. To cushion the impact, the government introduced targeted subsidy measures this week. The Department of Energy has activated a $333 million emergency fund to support these transfers, and a new law now permits the temporary suspension or partial reduction of excise duties on selected petroleum products. While the fiscal cost is currently modest at around 0.07% of GDP, the Philippines’ relatively thin fiscal buffer...
The Israeli stock market, which initially rallied at the onset on the country’s joint campaign with the U.S. against Iran, is now trading at pre-war levels.
The Israeli stock market, which initially rallied at the onset on the country’s joint campaign with the U.S. against Iran, is now trading at pre-war levels.
Someone Tell Lloyd Blankfein The Fire In Private Credit Has Already Started Submitted by QTR's Fringe Finance As I’ve been writing about , private credit has been under immense stress for months, with liquidity strains, redemption pressure, and growing questions around valuations all surfacing at once. And now with things on the verge of imminent collapse and literally all of f*cking Wall Street a...
Someone Tell Lloyd Blankfein The Fire In Private Credit Has Already Started Submitted by QTR's Fringe Finance As I’ve been writing about , private credit has been under immense stress for months, with liquidity strains, redemption pressure, and growing questions around valuations all surfacing at once. And now with things on the verge of imminent collapse and literally all of f*cking Wall Street already on notice , one former major banking CEO has decided to offer up the King Solomon-like revelation that he believes things could get worse from here. But, obviously, what he doesn’t realize is that the deterioration he’s warning about isn’t ahead of us. It’s already here. “At some point there needs to be a forcing function or a reckoning that causes you to come to grips with what your balance sheet really is worth,” former Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein told Bloomberg this week. He continued: “The analogy I like to give is you accumulate tinder on the floor of the forest and eventually a spark will come. But the longer between intervals where there’s a spark that sets it on fire, the more that accumulates.” Blankfein’s metaphor of tinder piling up in a forest misses one crucial point: the smoke is already in the air. When Blankfein warns that a spark will eventually force a reckoning in private assets, he’s describing a future event. But the market isn’t waiting for ignition, it’s already reacting. The forcing function he anticipates is not some external shock still to come it’s already unfolding inside fund structures, redemption queues, and valuation disputes. As I’ve written, it’s psychology. And the psychology has shifted . The bid is no longer blind. Look at the sequence of events just in March. Apollo Global Management capped withdrawals after double digit redemption requests. Ares Management restricted redemptions as its income fund came under pressure. BlackRock began limiting withdrawals in a major private credit vehicle. And just yesterday, more headlines hit s...