November, 2013
Inside The Advisor
A Bumpy Road Ahead for Tax-Exempt Bonds? 
by Gail Robertson, Senior Arbitrage Specialist 

 

Given the seriousness of our federal financial deficit, all federal subsidies, including the benefits associated with issuing tax-exempt and tax-advantaged bonds, are being reevaluated. Controlling the costs associated with this privilege could lead down three different roads.

 

Click here to continue reading.

 

The Long(er) View on Investments
by Jack Fay, Municipal Investment Advisor and Brian Reilly, Investment Advisor

The rise in intermediate and longer-term interest rates that began in May of this year has taken a respite, but it's worth recounting the effects. Between mid-May to mid-November the yield on the 5 year U.S. Treasury Note has gone from 0.905% to 1.443%. Five year Certificates of Deposit in the national, brokered market have experienced a similar increase, seeing yields move from 1.175% to 2.10% over this same period.

Click here to continue reading.

Save the Date for Ehlers' Minnesota School Finance Seminar 
 
Whether you use a paper or electronic calendar, be sure to block Friday, March 28, 2014 for the Ehlers Minnesota School Finance Seminar. Please note the new location at Sheraton Minneapolis West Hotel in Minnetonka.

The Ehlers School Finance Seminar focuses on financial issues affecting Minnesota school districts. 

Look for more information about sessions, registration and hotel location in January, or visit the Ehlers website for details. We hope to see you there!

New Report on Competitive Versus Negotiated Sales

A new report was recently issued by the Missouri State Auditor, which has long been an advocate for more competitive sales of municipal bonds. 

The report concludes that school districts and other local governments have paid hundreds of millions in additional interest costs due to overuse of negotiated sales.  The full report is available here.

 

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Greetings!

 

It's hard to believe another year draws to a close. With the holidays upon us, we offer several articles to you in this issue of The Advisor.

Following up on an article we published in our last issue of The Advisor, we're clarifying new laws restricting the timing of special elections.

Starting in 2014, you'll begin seeing some ways the Dodd-Frank Consumer Protection Act will impact business transactions.   
 
  
You'll also see articles about how tax-exempt and tax-advantage bonds are being reevaluated by the IRS, and how the rise in interest rates hasn't stopped. 

November 5, 2013 was an historic day for Minnesota school districts at the polls. Read about the success thanks to the voters. 

Don't forget to block Friday, March 28, 2014 to attend the Ehlers Minnesota School Finance Seminar, held at a new location at the Sheraton Minneapolis West Hotel in Minnetonka. More information will be made available soon.  

As a reminder, we're making you aware that if you're having trouble viewing our newsletter or links in Mozilla Firefox, please use Internet Explorer. 
 
Happy Holidays!   
    

Steve Apfelbacher  

Steve Apfelbacher

President and CEO

[email protected]

 

New Laws Restrict Timing of Special Elections  

by Joel Sutter, Senior Financial Advisor

 

joel sutter Although we published an article very similar to this in our June 2013 newsletter, we are still getting lots of questions from clients about scheduling of special elections. So we thought some clarification and reiteration would be helpful.

 

There were several laws passed in 2013 that will restrict the timing of special elections and will require earlier filing of notices regarding special elections. Thanks to Tom Deans of Knutson Flynn Deans for bringing these laws to our attention.


Click here to continue reading.

Municipal Advisor Rule to Change the Municipal Market 

by Steve Apfelbacher, Senior Financial Advisor

 

Steve Apfelbacher 

The
Dodd Frank Consumer Protection Act (the Act) passed by Congress in July, 2010 required the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to develop the final rules for the registration of Municipal Advisors (MA) who advise the public sector on municipal securities. Financial Advisors like Ehlers are considered a Municipal Advisor. The Act requires that all MAs have a fiduciary duty to their municipal clients.  
 
Click here to continue reading. 

School Districts Have an Historic Day at the Polls  

by Greg Crowe, Financial Advisor

 

November 5, 2013 was an historic day for school districts in Minnesota in terms of passage of voter approved operating referendums. In addition, districts that placed capital projects levies (ongoing funding for capital needs) and building projects in front of the voters were also extremely successful.   

 

Click here to continue reading. 

Ehlers Market Commentary

Are you up to date with current market trends? If not, be sure to check out the Ehlers Market Commentary, which is released every other week.   

 

Be sure to sign up to receive your email copy, or read past articles here.   


 

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The Ehlers Education Team
The Ehlers Education Team includes eight financial advisors - Joel SutterTom Berge, Greg Crowe, Carolyn Drude, Betsy Knoche, Gary Olsen, Jeff Seeley, and Jodie Zesbaugh
- who specialize in assisting Minnesota school districts. These individuals have a combined experience of over 200 years with Minnesota school finance - including experience working for state agencies, the Legislature, Counties, and school districts. We bring the lessons learned from this experience to benefit your District.

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