June 7: There are currently three areas of relative value for investing. Only two of them are relatively safe from tariff risks. These two are municipal bonds and gold. Municipal bonds have been sold off sufficiently that many CEFs sell at discounted values and provide fairly high interest rates. The after tax equivalent yield is obtained by dividing 1 – your marginal tax rate into the nominal yield. Obviously, the higher your marginal tax bracket the higher the after tax equivalent yield will be. Some CEFs to consider are PML, NEA, and MQY. Thanks to tariffs and tariff driven inflation, which is just now beginning to show up, gold is likely to keep rising. Some CEFs to consider are CEF and IAU.

The third area of relative value is comprised of non-US developed economy equities. International growth rates remain at risk do to tariffs, however. So investing in this area carries the most risk. Funds such as FEZ, SCHF, EWC, and EWA are among those to take a look at. Invest according to your own appetite for risk. As always, good investing!