Florida Bonds (Florida Municipal Bonds)
Please note that we are not authorised to provide any investment advice. The content on this page is for information purposes only.
The state of Florida issues bonds to finance investments in infrastructure projects for schools, roads, environmental resources, public facilities, and water and wastewater facilities. The state provides individual investors an opportunity to buy Florida bonds. To benefit from this opportunity, individuals must have:[br]
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An account with one of the brokerage firms participating in the bond sale. This is because it is not possible to purchase the bonds directly from the state. Since the account opening procedure might require time, individuals interested in buying Florida bonds must initiate the account opening process well in advance.
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Comprehensive knowledge of bonds, including information on maturity dates, types of projects to be financed from the proceeds and the security of the investment. This knowledge will help them make an informed investment decision.
Once you make an informed decision, you can contact your broker over the phone or the Internet to buy bonds during the early order period.
Recent Florida Bonds: Ratings
After the collapse of the housing market in Florida and the state’s substantial budget deficit, Standard & Poor’s had trimmed the state’s financial outlook from “stable” to “negative” in January 2009. This made it tough for Florida to borrow funds for projects, such as highways and schools. However, the state retained the AAA rating, ensuring that it could borrow funds at competitive interest rates in the future.
Some of the recent Florida bonds and issuing authorities are:
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Adventist Health System Sunbelt (Adventist): The long-term ratings for this authority were confirmed at ‘AA-‘ by Fitch Ratings in October 2009. The ratings reflected Adventist’s adequate liquidity position and management’s ability to access funds in case of the unscheduled put of any of its outstanding variable rate debt.[br]
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JEA variable rate electric system revenue bonds: The approximately $100,000,000 bonds series three 2008A were rated ‘AA-/F1’ by Fitch Ratings in July 2009. According to Fitch, continued strong operating performance and several balance sheet measures should allow JEA to access different interest rate modes and sources of capital.
Apart from these, Fitch Ratings affirmed its A+ rating for the following bonds on October 20, 2009:
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$86.3 million capital improvement revenue bonds
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$31.1 million in limited general obligation (GO) bonds
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$3.7 million in pari-mutuel sales tax revenue bonds at ‘A+’
