In the first nine months of this year, Fidelity Capital Markets increased its share of the municipal bond market by more than 50% over the same period last year, marking a company record of negotiating 85 new municipal bond issues.
More company resources are being pumped into this area as the average age of investors increases with the baby boomers and the bond market becomes attractive to more people, says Fidelity spokesman John Eidson.
The new issues include 34 taxable Build America Bonds deals, more than double the number underwritten last year, with much of the remainder being nontaxable municipal bonds. Value of the bonds is set $37.42 billion.
Fidelity Capital Markets is the institutional trading division of Fidelity Investments. The bonds are being marketed to Fidelity regional brokerages making them available to financial advisors and their clients, says Eidson.
"With an aging population and the prospects for higher taxes in the near future, we expect demand to continue growing as many investors turn to muni bonds for potential benefits as income in retirement and reduced volatility in their portfolios," says Patrick Sweeney, manager of Fixed-Income Trading for Fidelity Capital.