Bond Etudes: Aggregate vs. Muni—A Taxed Imagination

We are, after all, discussing bonds—those quiet, almost apologetic instruments of capital. They lack the swagger of equities, the scandalous allure of derivatives. Yet, within their muted tones lie subtleties that reward the attentive observer. AGG, with its sprawling portfolio, casts a wider net, encompassing everything from Treasury obligations—those ghostly promises of a federal future—to the more corporeal debts of American corporations. MUB, by contrast, confines itself to the realm of municipal finance—the upkeep of schools, the paving of roads, the subtle patronage that greases the wheels of local governance.








