Beyond The News

Access our weekly publication, "Beyond the News," where we go beyond the headlines to provide analysis and commentary on the public fund investment industry's most relevant topics and developments.

How Far/How Fast: The Path for Pool Yields is Lower

By Marty Margolis on September 16, 2024

The Federal Reserve is on the cusp of cutting rates. That much is crystal clear. When it does—most likely starting at its meeting September 18-–the yields on LGIPs and money funds will decline as well. How far and how fast will they fall? Here is a perspective on that question: LGIP and money fund yields […]

Why [Some] Investors Seem to Ignore The likelihood of Lower Rates Ahead

By Marty Margolis on September 4, 2024

The path ahead for interest rates seems clear: the Federal Reserve will soon begin to reduce its policy rate, bringing down short-term rates generally. This has been the outlook for a couple of months, with only the timing and magnitude of cuts in question. Meanwhile money market fund assets grew steadily this year and are […]

Slow Progress: The Opportunity to Expand FDIC Insurance for Public Units

By Marty Margolis on August 19, 2024

In the aftermath of last year’s bank crisis there were calls to reform federal deposit insurance to add stability to the banking system and diminish the risk of runs on smaller community banks. Deposit reform could also improve the banking environment for state and local governments if they organize around this issue and raise their […]

What the Big Bond Market Rally Means for Public Funds Investors*

By Marty Margolis on August 5, 2024

Last week’s big decline in interest rates feels a lot more real than the similar move at the beginning of the year. If so, what does it mean for public funds investors? The rally in bond prices boosted the returns on our 1–3-year model portfolio ahead of cash returns for the first time in several […]

Is Texas a Model of a Public Funds Investor-Friendly Market?

By Marty Margolis on August 1, 2024

Texas could be the model for an investor-friendly public funds investment market, with a robust state-sponsored local government investment pool and a number of sizable alternatives that provide public funds investors competitive choices, low fees, risk guardrails and significant disclosure requirements. The details. Texas is the second most populous state, and with 5,500 local governments […]

Uncertainty Ahead: Growth of Public Sector Investment Portfolios Slows, Liquidity Expands

By Marty Margolis on July 2, 2024

• There are signs that the robust growth in state and local government investment portfolios in recent years is ending even as high interest rates generate strong internal portfolio growth. The recently-released Federal Reserve’s Financial Accounts report showed state and local government assets grew only 0.6% in the quarter ended March 31, 2024 and 4.3% […]

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