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February 08 - Miles Benickes |
Our guest presenter was Mr. Miles Benickes, Executive Vice President, ML Stern. Mr. Benickes is also the head Bond Trader for ML Stern. Mr. Benickes provided an overview of the history, size, composition and workings of the Municipal Bond Market. He reviewed the different matters to consider when selecting which Municipal Bonds to add to our portfolios. He also discussed the current environment for the Municipal Bond Insurers. He pointed out that the historical default rate on Municipal Bonds has been very low and that providing insurance against possible default has been a very profitable business. It is the recent addition of insuring alternative investments such as CDO's that has led to potential financial problems for the Insurers. |
Mr. Benickes and Dave Weil |
Planning Session |