Pimco’s Hammer Says It’s Time to Buy Muni Bonds After Selloff

David Hammer, who leads municipal bond portfolio management at Pacific Investment Management Co., sees a buying opportunity for US state and local debt after the securities cheapened over the past month, especially longer maturities.

The whole fixed-income market is coming off a rocky stretch after the Middle East conflict pushed up oil prices and sparked inflation concerns. But munis had an particularly rough time — they fell 2.3% in March, for their worst month since 2023, a steeper slide than seen in Treasuries, Bloomberg index data show.

David Hammer

Source: Pacific Investment Management Co.

As a result, tax-exempt yields have jumped relative to those …