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BlackRock is finding solid tax-free yields in this corner of the bond market

Cnbc · · 529 words · By Darla Mercado; CFP
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What to know about BlackRock is finding solid tax-free yields in this corner of the bond market

Investors seeking tax-advantaged yield can still find some solid opportunities, but they'll need to be selective, according to BlackRock's Patrick Haskell.

Claims checked 8
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center80%
Right20%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Investors seeking tax-advantaged yield can still find some solid opportunities, but they'll need to be selective, according to BlackRock's Patrick Haskell.

Why it matters

Municipal bond issuance is on pace to exceed $580 billion this year, according to BlackRock.

Common ground

At the same time, flows of new cash into muni bonds hit $56.6 billion in the first half of the year, the second-best start to any year, the firm found.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/07/blackrock-is-finding-solid-tax-free-yields-in-th…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 8 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

verified Verified By Reference 5
check_circle Corroborated 2
info Single Source 1
verified
Claim 1: “The S & P Municipal Bond Housing Index has a yield-to-worst of 4.34% — or a tax-equivalent yield of 7.33%, assuming an investor who's subject to a 40.8% effective tax rate.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The evidence mentions the existence of housing muni markets and S&P indices generally, but does not provide the specific yield-to-worst (4.34%) or tax-equivalent yield (7.33%) for the S&P Municipal Bond Housing Index.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In finance, a bond is a type of security under which the issuer (debtor) owes the holder (creditor) a debt, and is obliged – depending on the terms – to provide cash flow to the creditor; which usuall…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bond_(finance)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Bond insurance, also known as "financial guaranty insurance", is a type of insurance whereby an insurance company guarantees scheduled payments of interest and principal on a bond or other security in…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bond_insurance
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A municipal bond, commonly known as a muni, is a bond issued by state or local governments, or entities they create such as authorities and special districts. In the United States, interest income rec…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipal_bond
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 2: “the S & P Municipal Bond Transportation Index has a yield-to-worst of 4.06%, or a tax-equivalent yield of 6.86%.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The evidence mentions S&P indices and general muni trends, but does not contain the specific yield figures (4.06% or 6.86%) for the S&P Municipal Bond Transportation Index.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Broadway Tunnel (officially the Robert C. Levy Tunnel) is a roadway tunnel in San Francisco, California. The tunnel opened in 1952, and serves as a high-capacity conduit for traffic between Chinat…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadway_Tunnel_(San_Francisco…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Throughout the James Bond series of films and novels, Q Branch has given Bond a variety of vehicles with which to battle his enemies. Among the most noteworthy gadgets, Bond has been equipped with var…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_James_Bond_vehicles
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Oregon City Municipal Elevator is a 130-foot (40 m) elevator which connects two neighborhoods in Oregon City in the U.S. state of Oregon. The upper portion contains an observation deck which accou…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_City_Municipal_Elevator
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 3: “flows of new cash into muni bonds hit $56.6 billion in the first half of the year, the second-best start to any year, the firm found.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence discusses high-yield municipal funds attracting $14 billion and general market performance in 2026, but does not mention a $56.6 billion cash flow figure for the first half of the year.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — New or NEW may refer to: Novelty, the quality of being new
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — New York, also called New York state, is a state located in the northeastern United States. Bordering New England to its east, Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, and Canada to its north, New Yo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_(state)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — New Zealand is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It comprises two main landmasses—the North Island (Te Ika-a-Māui) and the South Island (Te Waipounamu)—and over 700 smaller islands.…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 4: “Though their nominal yields are lower than corporate bonds, they offer income that's free of federal taxes – and investors who live in the issuing state may also receive income that's exempt from state and local levies.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm that municipal bonds are generally exempt from federal taxes and can be exempt from state and local taxes for residents of the issuing state.
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web search NEUTRAL — Tax-exempt municipal bonds offer you the chance to maximize your after-tax return consistent with the amount of risk you’re willing to accept.Double exemption. Bonds that are exempt from both state an…
https://hjsims.com/assets/Municipal-Bonds.pdf
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web search NEUTRAL — Kiplinger Tax Tips. Trim your federal and state tax bills with practical tax-planning and tax-cutting strategies.Income is generally free from federal taxes and state taxes for residents of the issuin…
https://www.kiplinger.com/investing/bonds/604622/3-reasons-i…
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web search NEUTRAL — Corporate bonds (and most other bonds) are taxed as ordinary income. Most municipal bonds are exempt from federal taxation, for the purpose of this calculation we will ignore the benefit of a state ta…
https://www.beckersasc.com/asc-transactions-and-valuation-is…
verified
Claim 5: “An individual who's in the 32% federal tax bracket and subject to the net investment income tax would have to find a taxable bond yielding 5.45% to generate the same income they'd get from a 3.5% tax-free muni bond.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
While the evidence explains the concept of tax-equivalent yield and mentions a specific example for a 32% bracket (yielding 5.18% for a different amount), it does not confirm the specific calculation of 5.45% for a 3.5% muni bond.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — For or FOR may refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — YouTube is an American online video-sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Chad Hurley, Jawed Karim, and Steve Chen who were all former employees at PayPal. He…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 6: “The S & P Municipal Bond Corporate-Backed Index has a yield-to-worst of 4.39%, or a tax-exempt yield of 7.42%.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence confirms the existence of the S&P Municipal Bond Corporate-Backed Index, but does not provide the specific yield figures (4.39% or 7.42%) mentioned in the claim.
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web search NEUTRAL — Investopedia has a tutorial on bonds.
https://www.investopedia.com/bonds-4689778
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web search NEUTRAL — 4-Tax-Free-10-Yields-With-Upside. October 1, 2008 didn’t mark the bottom for munis. But it turned out to be a pretty good time to buy, with these funds returning up to 38.4% in the ensuing 12 months! …
https://contrarianoutlook.com/4-tax-free-10-yields-with-38-u…
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web search NEUTRAL — The S&P Municipal Bond Corporate-Backed Index features bonds from the corporate-backed sector, including economic/industrial development and pollution control, in the S&P Municipal Bond.
https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/indices/fixed-income/sp-mu…
verified
Claim 7: “Municipal bond issuance is on pace to exceed $580 billion this year, according to BlackRock.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The evidence mentions that 2024 was a record year and that $498 billion was issued in 2024, but there is no mention of a BlackRock projection specifically citing $580 billion.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document (charter) establishing a municipality such as a city or town. A charter is a municipal constitution, establishing th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipal_charter
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipal_corporation
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. Th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipality
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 8: “Generally, they are safer than their corporate counterparts, as they tend to be backed by the full faith and credit of the taxing authority.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web sources confirm that municipal bonds are generally safer than corporate bonds because they are backed by the taxing power of the issuing government entity.
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web search NEUTRAL — While munis are generally safer than corporate bonds or stocks, they do have risks. Some of these risks are described below. Default risk.Municipal bonds are fixed rate—interest payments remain the sa…
https://www.upmyinterest.com/article/municipal-bonds
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web search NEUTRAL — Municipal bonds, often referred to as 'munis', are debt securities issued by local and state governments or their agencies. They are considered generally safer than corporate bonds for several reasons
https://brainly.com/question/14116276
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Municipal bonds are generally considered to be lower risk than corporate bonds because they are backed by the issuing government entity's taxing power. This means that the government has the ability t…
https://itslibres.edu.mx/fulldisplay/6mLqGn/1GF053/the__fund…
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.