With investor sentiment now shaded by the daily changes in market direction for both equities and fixed income, I suggest that we are faced with a changed investment paradigm, at least in the near term. While Europe tries to extricate itself from economic doom and gloom, many major equity indices struggle to post positive year-to-date returns1. In my opinion, as shown in the table below, inflows into fixed income may be an indication that it is currently the preferred asset class over equities. More specifically, I believe municipal bonds have generally offered investors some sense of stability. The Barclays Municipal Bond Index2 returned 3.43% year-to-date, with an average coupon of 4.90%3. This generated enough return to help investors weather momentary downturns in market value.