Insights

We believe payout ratio is a critical metric in evaluating dividend-paying securities and avoiding the potential pitfalls associated with targeting solely high dividend yield.

We believe that investors may place too much emphasis on high absolute dividend yield when seeking defensive and high income-generating equity exposure.

There are important limitations to relying solely on total return—primarily that not all returns are created equal.

Federal policy actions present new risks for many private higher education institutions.

Breckinridge believes a less rigid approach to municipal bond management can pursue objectives similar to ladder strategies while providing flexibility to opportunistically take advantage of changing market conditions.

As yields rise or fall, the pace and size of any change in one bond’s prices can be different than another bond.

The municipal bond market enters 2025 with strong but ebbing credit fundamentals, the potential for rising Municipal/Treasury ratios driven by increased issuance and weaker demand due to policy uncertainty, and tight credit spreads.

Demographic shifts, more competition in the public school arena, and state aid formulas are driving challenges.