Turbulence Throws Nuveen's Gravity-Defying John Miller Off Course
Bloomberg Markets|April - May 2020
FOR MORE THAN two decades, John Miller helped to build the high-yield municipal bond market. In two weeks in early March, he watched it collapse.
DANIELLE MORAN and AMANDA ALBRIGHT
Turbulence Throws Nuveen's Gravity-Defying John Miller Off Course

The star fund manager at muni giant Nuveen is famous for the power he wields in the market—and for making bets that other investors shy away from. His fund made wildly successful wagers in the U.S., plunging into the riskiest crevices of state and local government debt as well as into companies and ventures that weren’t easily recognizable as municipal debt. Even when the market was climbing to records earlier this year, Miller’s risk appetite exceeded that of some of his peers.

Then the deadly new coronavirus shut down vast swaths of the country. Many of the projects he financed were hit. The American Dream megamall in New Jersey was shuttered just as it was about to open. Virgin Trains USA’s unprofitable high-speed Florida railroad curtailed service as tourists disappeared overnight. In just 10 trading days, yields on benchmark municipal bonds jumped more than 200 basis points, prompting the Federal Reserve to take unprecedented action to support the market.

Miller’s fund plunged, its assets diving to $19.3 billion on March 26, from $25 billion at the end of February. Having been one of the best performers in the industry, it became one of the very worst. Investors pulled $11.3 billion from high-yield municipal bond mutual funds in the three weeks ended March 25, according to Refinitiv Lipper US Fund Flows data. On March 19—with prices plunging, tying a record for the biggest one-day rout in market history—Nuveen alone tried to unload more than $700 million in bonds.

Nonetheless, Miller seems prepared. “This has been a move without any concrete financial data because it’s happened so quickly,” he says, sitting on the near-empty trading floor of Nuveen’s downtown Chicago office. His phone has been ringing so incessantly that he has to pause when the battery in his headset dies.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April - May 2020 من Bloomberg Markets.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April - May 2020 من Bloomberg Markets.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من BLOOMBERG MARKETS مشاهدة الكل
See Which Countries Are Falling Behind On Climate Change
Bloomberg Markets

See Which Countries Are Falling Behind On Climate Change

Under the Paris Agreement, 190 countries and the European Union pledged to take steps to hold the global temperature rise to less than 2C (3.6F) from preindustrial levels—and preferably 1.5C.

time-read
4 mins  |
October - November 2021
Billionaires Vie for the Future of Brazilian Finance
Bloomberg Markets

Billionaires Vie for the Future of Brazilian Finance

An escalating battle between two billionaires is upending the financial community in São Paulo, Latin America’s wealthiest city.

time-read
8 mins  |
October - November 2021
Ford Foundation's Darren Walker: ‘We Have to Get Uncomfortable'
Bloomberg Markets

Ford Foundation's Darren Walker: ‘We Have to Get Uncomfortable'

DARREN WALKER, 62, disrupted his Wall Street life more than 25 years ago when he left what is now UBS Group AG to volunteer at a school and eventually pursue a career in community development and philanthropy. Since 2013 he’s been at the pinnacle of the philanthropic world as president of the Ford Foundation, created by the family of automaker Henry Ford during the Great Depression to advance human welfare.

time-read
8 mins  |
October - November 2021
Fueling the Ener Transition
Bloomberg Markets

Fueling the Ener Transition

I MAY BE BIASED, but some of the most important research and data on the Bloomberg terminal lies in one of its lesser-known functions: {BNEF }

time-read
1 min  |
October - November 2021
Dig Into Analysts' Estimates for Disruptive Companies
Bloomberg Markets

Dig Into Analysts' Estimates for Disruptive Companies

THE PANDEMIC ERA generated a whole wave of disruptive companies as it accelerated the introduction of new products and services in areas including artificial intelligence, digitization, electronic payments, online meeting platforms, and virtual currencies.

time-read
4 mins  |
October - November 2021
Climate Risks Come for Sovereign Credit
Bloomberg Markets

Climate Risks Come for Sovereign Credit

FOR YEARS climate scientists have warned about the ferocious wildfires and hurricanes that are now overwhelming many communities. Today alarms are ringing about a related financial danger: risks lurking within government bonds, the biggest part of the global debt market.

time-read
7 mins  |
October - November 2021
Responsible-Investing Pioneer Lydenberg Says ESG Needs An Upgrade
Bloomberg Markets

Responsible-Investing Pioneer Lydenberg Says ESG Needs An Upgrade

STEVE LYDENBERG’S passion for social change was inspired by anti-Vietnam War demonstrations, consumer boycotts, and the movement to divest from apartheid South Africa. But he didn’t take to the streets. Instead, Lydenberg turned to the world of finance to help catalyze societal change.

time-read
8 mins  |
October - November 2021
Engine No. 1's Grancio: ‘People Will Appreciate an Economic Argument'
Bloomberg Markets

Engine No. 1's Grancio: ‘People Will Appreciate an Economic Argument'

ENGINE NO. 1 sent shock waves across corporate America in May when the fledgling investment firm won a boardroom battle with Exxon Mobil Corp., securing three seats on the oil and gas giant’s board after purchasing only about $40 million of its stock.

time-read
6 mins  |
October - November 2021
Find Out Which Companies May Ramp Up Payouts After Covid
Bloomberg Markets

Find Out Which Companies May Ramp Up Payouts After Covid

AS THE PANDEMIC DISRUPTED business last year, many companies cut or suspended dividends. Which will boost their payouts when economies pick up again?

time-read
2 mins  |
October - November 2021
Get Into the Minds of Central Bankers as They Navigate Shocks
Bloomberg Markets

Get Into the Minds of Central Bankers as They Navigate Shocks

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED how central bankers forecast the impact of shocks on the economy?

time-read
4 mins  |
October - November 2021