Blue Rose Advisors Blog
The Shield – Blue Rose: A Trusted Advisor in an Uncertain 2025
The beginning of the new year marks a new start for many of us. New year’s resolutions, new goals and aspirations, perhaps even a commitment to stay the course on a personal or professional mission. It is the way of the world to set new milestones for ourselves as the calendar turns over from one year to the next. For the Blue Rose team, our commitment is unwavering to remain steady, trusted advisors who provide expert advice amid upside-down yield curves, changing tax codes, interest rate volatility and, possibly, more market surprises than we may wish to think about in 2025.
Understanding Green Bonds
Green labeled bonds belong to a family of designations affixed to bonds issued under the “ESG” labels (“Environmental”, “Social”, and “Governance” bonds). There exist readily available standards to which borrowers can use for labelling their green bonds, such as the International Capital Market Association’s (ICMA) standards and the Climate Bond Initiative’s (CBI) standards. Third-party verifiers – often charging a fee – can assist throughout the entire process of evaluating a project through the lens of any of these standards, from the initial evaluation through execution, as well as beyond with post-issuance reporting
Blue Rose’s John Elliott Promoted to Vice President
Congratulations to John Elliott on His Promotion to Vice President at Blue Rose Capital Advisors! Mr. Elliott joined Blue Rose as an Associate in 2021 and was promoted to Assistant Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer in 2023. He provides analytical and research support and project management for Blue Rose’s P3, strategic consulting, and debt advisory practice in addition to his compliance responsibilities
Final Fed Rate Cut and Basis Points Market Update for 2024
As widely anticipated, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 bps on Wednesday, lowering the Fed Funds target range to 4.25 – 4.50%. The projections released for 2025 indicate only two additional rate cuts in 2025. This is lower than the projections released in September which had indicated four rate cuts in 2025. As a result, treasury rates in the 1-30 year range increased ~2-5 bps intraday on Wednesday. Conversely, very short-term rates fell slightly by 1-2 bps
Enrollment Trends for 2024 and Beyond
Higher education has experienced a few years of tumult and recovery since the COVID pandemic. While some institutions are catching their breath, others are struggling to survive. Given the gathering clouds around enrollment trends from this year and well into the future, few can afford themselves the luxury of complacency. We explore recent developments
P3 Advisory Services – Blue Rose’s Approach to Public-Private Partnerships
Understanding A Public-Private Partnership: A Public-Private Partnership (P3) is an agreement between a government agency and a private firm to provide services that would traditionally be handled by the public sector, like designing, building, financing, operating, and maintaining a facility or provide a service.
Reinvest Market Update November 2024
The Fed decreased interest rates by 25 basis points at this month’s FOMC meeting. Despite this reduction to short-term rates, longer term treasury rates have risen ~17 basis points since November 4th – in large part due to market reactions to the results of the 2024 Presidential Election. President-Elect Trump’s campaign proposals have caused expectations for future economic growth in the US and created concerns about increased inflation in the coming years. This has resulted in a selloff of US treasuries.
Blue Rose Capital Advisors Annual Meeting 2024
Once a year, the stars align—well, not literally, but close enough! -and this September, Blue Rose Capital Advisors joined our sister company, HedgeStar, for an all-team annual meeting in the scenic town of Stillwater, Minnesota. Our team enjoyed a historic trolly ride that highlighted the town’s rich history, a scenic guided hike to the waterfall at Willow River State Park, and enjoyed team camaraderie through dinners and meetings.
Blue Rose Capital Advisors is Presenting at the CACUBO 2024 Annual Meeting
Blue Rose Capital Advisors’ Erik Kelly, President, is presenting at the CACUBO Annual Meeting held in Indianapolis, IN, September 29th – October 1st, 2024. Mr. Kelly will present on the How to Host a Banker Day: Bankers Everywhere All at Once at Your Place panel from 1:15 – 2:15 pm on Tuesday, October 1st.
Reinvestment of Bond Proceeds Considerations Following Fed Rate Cut
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 50 bps at this month’s FOMC meeting. Many of our clients have asked us about the market implications following interest rate changes made by the Fed. Similar to the interest rate increases we’ve seen in recent years, this rate cut seems to have been priced into the market for taxable short-term rates prior to the FOMC meeting last week.
Blue Rose Capital Advisors is Presenting at the CACUBO Annual Meeting
Blue Rose Capital Advisors’ James McNulty, Managing Director, is presenting at the CACUBO Annual Meeting held in Indianapolis, IN, September 29 – October 1, 2024. Mr. McNulty will present on the Make Workforce Development Work: Building an Environment Focused on Student Outcomes panel from 2:00 – 3:00 pm on Sunday, September 29th.
Engaging a Municipal in Pricing Tax-Exempt Bonds
What Are Tax-Exempt Bonds? Let’s Get Started! To start, let’s begin with the basics of what exactly are tax-exempt bonds (here, used interchangeably with “municipal securities” or “muni bonds”).
The Shield – Higher Education Rating Agency Medians
Higher Education Rating Agency Medians – Some Stabilization in FY 2023, but Enrollment and Operational Challenges Remain
How Municipal Advisors Support Small Private Higher Education Institutions in Financial Distress
In the highly competitive environment of higher education, small private institutions often wrestle with financial roadblocks that require specialized expertise and knowledge to navigate effectively. Municipal advisors often help small privates overcome these obstacles and accomplish their goals in times of financial distress
Basis Points: Reinvest Market Update
Markets reacted strongly in the past week following the July non-farm payroll report coming out lower than expected, along with an increase in the unemployment rate
Benefits of Engaging a Municipal Advisor When Reinvesting Bond Proceeds
The market environment over the past year has been volatile, but there are two characteristics that have remained relatively consistent: the inversion of the yield curve and lower-than-average tax-exempt to taxable ratios
The Shield – July Market Update
In our previous market update published in mid-May, we focused on interest rate volatility and signaling from the Fed on its rate outlook for the remainder of the year. While rate volatility has somewhat calmed, the interest rate environment is still elevated relative to the last several years
The Shield – Transitioning From LIBOR: A Year With SOFR
A little over a year ago, the transition from the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) occurred. This transition had been in the works for several years and officially concluded in June of 2023. Below, we summarize some important milestones that have transpired since the transition
Blue Rose Capital Advisors is Presenting at the NACUBO Annual Meeting
Blue Rose Capital Advisors’ James McNulty, Managing Director, is presenting at the NACUBO Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL, July 20th – 23rd, 2024. Mr. McNulty will present on the Make Workforce Development Work: Building an Environment Focused on Student Outcomes panel from 4:00 – 5:15 pm on Sunday, July 21st
Basis Points: June Market Update
Based on the Federal Reserve sentiments and economic data from mid-June, the market is still expecting to see at least one Fed Fund rate cut before the end of the year
The Shield – May Market Update
Markets have remained volatile through the first four months of 2024, continuing a theme that we observed at the end of last year. Rates have moved significantly higher and equity indexes sit near all-time highs. However, there is significant uncertainty around how the rest of the year will unfold
Basis Points: Positive Arbitrage Persists in the Market, Increasing in Certain Circumstances
CPI data came out higher than anticipated this month, a signal to investors and market participants that the Fed may not be ready to cut rates just yet. The probability of a rate cut in June is currently ~11.3%, while it had been ~50% earlier this month
The Shield – Market and Company Update
Blue Rose Capital Advisors Erik Kelly, President, and Brandon Lippold, Vice President, shared industry insights and financial strategies to address unique market activity during their presentation at the Wisconsin Health & Education Facilities Authority’s (WHEFA) Lunch & Learn Market Update Webinar on March 26th, 2024
Blue Rose’s Lily Greenway passes MSRB Series 50 Exam
Blue Rose Capital Advisors announces that Lily Greenway, Analyst, has passed the MSRB Series 50 Examination to become a qualified municipal advisor representative
Blue Rose Capital Advisors Will Present at the MHEFA Annual Conference
Blue Rose Capital Advisors’ Erik Kelly, President, and Max Wilkinson, Vice President, are presenting on the Municipal Advisor Panel at the MHEFA 36th Annual Conference in St. Paul, MN, on April 17, 2024.
Basis Points: Tips for Optimizing Reinvestment Strategy
Structuring Municipal Bonds: Serial and Term Bonds
The Shield: End of Summer Market Update
Julia Cain Joins Blue Rose Capital Advisors as an Analyst
Understanding Private Activity Bonds in the World of Municipal Bonds
In the Midst of Ongoing Market Volatility, Find Certainty with Fixed Rate Reinvestment
The Shield – Leveraging Debt for Campus Improvement
Interest Rate Swaps: An Effective Risk Management Tool
Looming Uncertainty for the Higher Education Sector at the Dawn of the Second Trump Administration
