|
|
Municipal Credit Examined
March 22, 2011
11:00 AM CST
Is there a municipal bond bubble?
Last October, Director Brian Battle of Performance Trust and a panel of top municipal credit experts tackled the industry’s burning questions surrounding broader muni credit issues during Full Disclosure: Municipal Credit Exposed.
On March 22, Brian and an entirely new expert panel will narrow their focus to individual credits and specific sectors in our second Full Disclosure episode, "Municipal Credit Examined.” Drawing from over 100 combined years of municipal credit experience, our panelists will share their insights and provide an in-depth view of certain credits, including general obligation bonds, revenue bonds, development deals, and essential purpose revenue bonds. This episode will scrutinize municipal credit more closely than ever before, as panelists establish critical metrics and measure credit risk in this era of irresponsibility.
- Is the $2.85 trillion municipal bond market going to experience a surge in defaults? If not an overall surge, where are defaults most likely to occur?
- What is the framework you should use to analyze municipal credit?
- Where should an investor be positioned to take advantage of the current municipal market turmoil?
Join us for our next episode of Full Disclosure: Municipal Credit Examined. Don’t let your municipal credit questions go unanswered.
Meet Our Moderator
 |
Brian Battle
Director, Performance Trust Investment Advisors, LLC
With over 25 years of experience in the municipal area, Brian is recognized nationwide as a man of tremendous integrity and skill. Since joining Performance Trust in May 2005, he has expanded the company’s capabilities in areas such as liability management, taxable municipal bonds, and convex mortgage securities. As a frequent on-air commentator for CNBC, Fox Business News and Bloomberg TV, as well as an editor and regular contributor for both Mark-to-MarketDebate.com and TheRatingsDebate.com, Brian represents Performance Trust as one of its leading market experts.
Brian holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business and economics from Winona State University and an MBA from DePaul University.
|
Meet Our Expert Panelists
 |
J. Thomas Futrell
Senior Portfolio Manager, Performance Trust Investment Advisors, LLC
Tom joined Performance Trust Investment Advisors as a Senior Portfolio Manager for Municipal Bonds. Tom comes to the firm with over 25 years of experience in municipal bond portfolio management. Tom started his career in the investment business as a credit analyst with Nuveen Investments. He transitioned to Nuveen Asset Management, where he was involved in almost every area of investment management. Tom’s considerable involvement in municipals has included performing portfolio construction and ongoing portfolio management of a number of closed-end municipal bond funds, including Nuveen Premium Income Municipal Fund, Nuveen’s first leveraged closed-end fund. He also supervised a 20-person municipal research team that evaluated potential purchases and performed surveillance on municipal credits totaling $60 billion. Recently, as the CIO for Claymore Securities, Inc. (purchased by Guggenheim Partners, LLC), Tom provided oversight for the investment operations of a $16 billion complex involving closed-end funds, exchange-traded funds, and unit investment trusts, including municipal mandates and closed-end funds.
Tom has a BA from Wheaton College and an MBA from Northern Illinois University, and is a CFA charter holder. Futrell is a director of the Northern Illinois University Foundation and a member of the Finance Committee, as well as a member and past chair of the Municipal Bond Buyers Association.
|
|
|
 |
Johnathan N. Wilhelm
Portfolio Manager, Performance Trust Investment Advisors, LLC
John joined Performance Trust Investment Advisors as a Portfolio Manager for Municipal Bonds. John comes to the firm with over 21 years of credit research and portfolio management experience in corporate and municipal securities. Prior to joining PTIA, John worked at Nuveen Investments for the past 11 years. Most recently at Nuveen, John was a Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager, responsible for approximately $3 billion of municipal assets under management involving nine different strategies. Before he joined the portfolio management team, John led a team of credit analysts responsible for research of industrial development bonds, utilities and real estate-backed financings. Prior to joining Nuveen Investments, John was a Senior Credit Analyst in the Van Kampen Senior Loan Group. As a Senior Loan Analyst, he was responsible for the oversight of a team of three analysts with coverage of 180 companies with a total exposure of approximately $6 billion. Before joining the senior loan group, he was a Senior Fixed-Income Analyst for the Van Kampen mutual funds and unit investment trusts where he specialized in the health care and industrial development bond sectors.
John earned his BS in Business, with a concentration in finance, from Miami University of Ohio and his Juris Doctor from DePaul University College of Law.
|
|
|
 |
Bill Black, CFA
Portfolio Manager, Invesco
Bill joined Invesco in 2010. He was previously a portfolio manager for municipal funds at Van Kampen, which he joined in 1998 as a municipal credit analyst focusing on high yield and corporate backed borrowers. Before joining Van Kampen, he was an investment banker specializing in municipal bonds.
Bill earned a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering and public policy from Washington University in St Louis and a master’s degree in management from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. He is a CFA charterholder.
Funds Managed
- Invesco Municipal Income Opportunities Trust
- Invesco Municipal Income Opportunities Trust II
- Invesco Municipal Income Opportunities Trust III
- Invesco Van Kampen High Yield Municipal Fund
|
|
|
