David Garringer

People need infrastructure. Infrastructure needs bonds. Bonds need a market. That market needs software. | @Invtools

[The Bond Buyer @TheBondBuyer]

"I think it's notable that we did have a one-year improvement," said co-author Richard Ciccarone. "When we really want to change something, it starts with small steps. You're looking for the incremental, positive change. And then you've got to keep it up." https://t.co/1RpQ6cqhhN

[David Garringer @DavidGarringer]

Kestrel scores are now available in our product suite! We're happy to partner with the best-in-class provider of sustainability research in the public finance space.

[Investortools @Invtools]

@Invtools is thrilled to announce a new partnership with Kestrel to add their Sustainability Scores for municipal bonds to Investortools’ products.

The collaboration builds on Investortools’ current ability for clients to score bonds based on environmental, social, and governance data attributes. Kestrel's Sustainability Scores further support informed decisions regarding portfolio construction, compliance, and ongoing management.

"Investortools delivers critical workflow tools to the buy-side and sell-side in the municipal market. Many of our customers shared their desire to access Kestrel analytics through Investortools. We are excited to work closely with the team at Investortools to improve access to fundamental information about transition alignment, sustainability, and resilience in municipal finance.
- Monica Reid, CEO of Kestrel.

“Kestrel's Sustainability Scores will provide our clients with additional tools to evaluate the sustainability and risk profiles of municipal bonds in their portfolios or under consideration for investment. By integrating these scores into our software, clients can seamlessly incorporate them into their workflow, enhancing the efficiency of their decision-making processes.”
- Tim Hadley, Senior Vice President of Sales at Investortools

Learn more about the partnership: https://t.co/RuiE31RUZJ

[Investortools @Invtools]

@Invtools is thrilled to announce a new partnership with Kestrel to add their Sustainability Scores for municipal bonds to Investortools’ products.

The collaboration builds on Investortools’ current ability for clients to score bonds based on environmental, social, and governance data attributes. Kestrel's Sustainability Scores further support informed decisions regarding portfolio construction, compliance, and ongoing management.

"Investortools delivers critical workflow tools to the buy-side and sell-side in the municipal market. Many of our customers shared their desire to access Kestrel analytics through Investortools. We are excited to work closely with the team at Investortools to improve access to fundamental information about transition alignment, sustainability, and resilience in municipal finance.
- Monica Reid, CEO of Kestrel.

“Kestrel's Sustainability Scores will provide our clients with additional tools to evaluate the sustainability and risk profiles of municipal bonds in their portfolios or under consideration for investment. By integrating these scores into our software, clients can seamlessly incorporate them into their workflow, enhancing the efficiency of their decision-making processes.”
- Tim Hadley, Senior Vice President of Sales at Investortools

Learn more about the partnership: https://t.co/RuiE31RUZJ

[Investortools @Invtools]

@Invtools recently integrated Millennium Advisors into the Investortools Dealer Network (IDN), delivering real-time pricing and trade execution capabilities to clients. This partnership, highlighted in The Bond Buyer, is among several recent integrations enhancing the functionality of Investortools' software suite. With connectivity to Millennium and other platforms, users can achieve a seamless Straight-Through-Processing (STP) workflow. They can lift, bid, counter, and receive electronic delivery of allocation details directly within the Investortools software. By streamlining the trading process, market participants can manage transactions within a single system, improving efficiency and accuracy by eliminating the need to switch between applications to source bonds.

Read more the recent integration: https://t.co/BpWE4kwEHM

[Richard A Ciccarone @RichardCiccaro1]

This is a potential $7 billion project down the road. ....
DuPage Water plans bond-financed water plant to exit Chicago system https://t.co/nwH6aU40Dw

[Investortools @Invtools]

"This [automation] has been transformative in the way that the world is moving to become more dependent upon electronic technology, not only in trading and in the market but also in credited analysis."

- @RichardCiccaro1 , president emeritus of Merritt Research Service LLC, an @Invtools company

In this episode of @TheBondBuyer podcast, hosted by @MJScarchilli, @ChipB414 sits down with John Hallacy and Richard Ciccarone to discuss how technology is revolutionizing municipal finance and the crucial role of integrating credit systems with trading portfolio applications for better decision-making.

Listen to the full episode here: https://t.co/Jv6CD3gK7D

[David Garringer @DavidGarringer]

Very excited to be heading to Philadelphia for this year's NFMA! If you'll be there, please come say hello and learn about the latest CreditScope features.

[Investortools @Invtools]

Investortools is headed to the 2024 National Federation of Municipal Analysts’ Annual Conference! We are eager to return as a sponsor and participate as an exhibitor, where our team will showcase our industry-leading credit analysis system.

Trusted by users for decades, #CreditScope seamlessly integrates consistently fielded financial and pension data from Merritt Research Service (an Investortools company) with advanced credit analytics and monitoring tools, all in one user-friendly platform. With access to EMMA documents, demographics, ratings, source documents, and other essential resources, CreditScope enables users to streamline the data collection process, saving valuable time and enhancing users’ ability to assess credit risk efficiently.

Our 2024 NFMA Team:
Mike Green - Chief Operating Officer
@RandySoraich - Vice President of Client Services
Dmitri Abanin, CFA - Vice President, Sales
@DavidGarringer - Team Lead, Client Services

Be sure to connect with our team or stop by our booth to learn more about how CreditScope can empower your credit analysis process.

#muniland #creditanalysissyste

[David Garringer @DavidGarringer]

Want to build the best fixed income software anywhere? Come work with us! We're hiring onto our Client Services team in Colorado Springs, CO and Naperville, IL!

https://t.co/DolBecxlI3

[The Bond Buyer @TheBondBuyer]

Nearly half of America's private colleges and universities reported negative operating margins in fiscal year 2023, and the situation was even worse in the Midwest, according to preliminary data compiled by Merritt Research Services. https://t.co/lpGx0fH72J

[Investortools @Invtools]

Merritt Research Service LLC Services, an @Invtools company, was recently featured in a @modrnhealthcr article highlighting health systems' increased investment into new projects and services. Having examined 280 nonprofit healthcare systems, Merrit Research Services found a 4.5% increase in median revenue from 2021 to 2022. This is further reiterated by preliminary analysis on 87 healthcare facilities that indicates total revenue is broadly improving for the healthcare sector.

Read more: https://t.co/TTFouJmsWn

[Investortools @Invtools]

In our commitment to fostering a deeper public comprehension of municipal finance and supporting academic research, we are excited to partner with the Harris School of Public Policy at @UofC. Through this partnership, data will be distributed to eligible academic institutions, furthering our collective efforts to offer affordable and timely insights into municipal finance.

"Their data from government financial statements are widely known as the most comprehensive and reliable in the business," he said. "And perhaps more important, they are thought leaders who believe high-quality academic research can add tremendous value to practice."
- Justin Marlowe
Director of @HarrisPolicy's Center for Municipal Finance

"UC’s Municipal Finance Center’s aspiration to specifically educate future leaders in public finance made them a natural partner in this project. We were also able to leverage the University’s previous infrastructure and experience as a data clearinghouse agent redistributing other types of data collected by private sector parties to qualified academic researchers. It is our hope that all public finance will benefit from new data insights developed with the help of the program.”

- @RichardCiccaro1
President Emeritus of Merritt Research Service LLC, an Investortools company

Read the full article here: https://t.co/W2q4naRTOm

[Investortools @Invtools]

"Illinois was rewarded by ratings and the market this year [after] improving its balance sheet to restore its liquidity as well as incrementally reduce its overall long-term liabilities. Keeping the course will become more difficult as the state must rely more on its own revenues to cut the massive pension burden that remains."

@RichardCiccaro1, President Emeritus of Merritt Research Service LLC, an @Invtools company, comments on the net position of Illinois's 2023 fiscal year.

Learn more: https://t.co/eObsVsUjLj

[Government Finance Research Center (GFRC) @govfinanceUIC]

The Forgotten Municipal Bonds: School Districts. A new blog post for @govfinanceUIC by @RichardCiccaro1, president emeritus of Merritt Research Services an @Invtools company.

@bmf_comms @Deb_A_Carroll @TheBondBuyer @munibonds
Click: https://t.co/NKfLdEQZLh

[Caitlin Devitt @Caitlindevitt]

Rumors had been circulating and now Citi confirms - it’s closing its once storied muni underwriting shop. Memo: “the economics of these activities are no longer viable given our commitment to increase the firm’s overall returns”

[Dr. Robert Cialdini @RobertCialdini]

I have never had heroes, except for Charlie Munger. Today I learned that the man who was my longtime friend, mentor, and supporter passed yesterday at 99 years and 11 months. Although he missed the century-old mark by only a few days, I don't think it would have mattered to him at all. Charlie didn't care about such designations. He only cared about finding ways to generate positive outcomes--and, crucially, not just for himself. He wanted everyone he could reach to benefit, too.

Charlie was a capitalist to the bone. But, he advocated a rarified form: selfless capitalism. Two sentiments I heard him express make the case. In describing the importance of acquired wealth, he said it was, "to be in a position to help others when trouble comes." So, it wasn't to protect oneself from tribulation; it was to rescue the less well-positioned from it.

Even more impressive to me was a statement he made on the moral responsibility of highly successful businesspeople to share fully their methods for producing that success--something he and Warren Buffett do relentlessly at Berkshire Hathaway. "Amazing," I remember saying to myself when I heard his claim. Here's a man at remarkably elevated levels of business attainment who, rather than secreting his causal practices and strategies, recommends revealing them widely to spread and thereby enlarge the gain. What's more, he walks his talk. Just amazing.

I haven't cried in years. But, today, I wept.

[David Garringer @DavidGarringer]

This is a great introduction to the obligors with the largest US muni debt outstanding! #muniland

[Investortools @Invtools]

While increased debt loads typically pose credit risks, they can also positively influence trading and pricing dynamics, fostering improved transparency. The reporting of trading activity through the MSRB EMMA database enhances market awareness, particularly when transactions involving the same name and security are frequent. Larger issuers offer a pricing transparency advantage compared to numerous smaller-sized bond issuers that are traded infrequently.

As part of the Data Insights series, @RichardCiccaro1 of Merritt Research Service LLC, an Investortools company, identifies the seven largest same credit securities or obligors across fourteen municipal credit sectors.

𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗯𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿: https://t.co/Vy3Ar9ePw9

[Investortools @Invtools]

Merritt Research Service LLC, an Investortools company, and @RichardCiccaro1 were recently mentioned in @CrainsChicago regarding the status of Chicago's pension funds.

Read the full article: https://t.co/ZD7HUCatEF

[Richard A Ciccarone @RichardCiccaro1]

This article, in the WSJ, raises issues that show how difficult it is to evaluate ESG on uniform principles -- Same could be said for muni bonds. Few companies rate highly on all aspects of ESG, so you have to set your priorities as an investor https://t.co/kfv1dGr00Y via @WSJ

[The Bond Buyer @TheBondBuyer]

“Sooner or later when it breaks, you're going to have to pay for it, probably at a much higher expense,” Rich Ciccarone said. “It gets very difficult to do new sustainable projects when you're competing with what you didn't fix in the past.” https://t.co/dN4ZEMJlVb

[Richard A Ciccarone @RichardCiccaro1]

Investors have poured more money into municipal bond funds so far this year than they have in decades https://t.co/S7odoaDl1G via @WSJ