WHAT WE OFFER
CONFERENCES
RESEARCH
GRADINGS
PUBLICATION
Smith's Conference series provide unique forums for investors and issuers to discuss matters of mutual interest. They include, Smith's Affordable Housing Finance Conference, High Yield Municipal Bond Conference, State and Local Government Finance Conference, and Community-Based Healthcare Conference.
Smith's has become a bellwether research company, often predicting significant trends and spotlighting controversial subjects sometimes months before they come to light elsewhere. SMITH’s provides independent research and third-party analysis for institutional investors.
SMITH’s Grading scale provides a comprehensive and unified credit comparison that is consistently applied for all securities — from supranational organizations and sovereign risk gradings to sub-sovereign municipal entities and corporate credit analytics. It’s a principled and proven approach to credit analysis expressed on Smith’s universal scale.
Smith's Research & Gradings has the news and information you need to know as you continue your search for value in the municipal markets. Smith's is the premier source of independent credit evaluation within the municipal credit market.
Smith's is published every other week
RECENT NEWS/EVENTS
News Story
S&P Global: Housing Bond Outlook 2017
S&P Global Ratings expects ratings in the municipal housing sector to remain stable in 2017, with just a small number of downgrades within the tax-exempt bond ratings universe. Following the downgrades that began in 2008, the sector turned this trend around and has had ongoing stability in the new decade. The credit stability is contingent on several variables, from the state of the economy, the future of the mortgage and real estate market, and revisions and new policies that directly impact affordable housing in the U.S. All of these variables can serve as either a direct risk or a potential opportunity.
S&P Global has recognized that although the ratings have performed through the great recession and ongoing recovery, the sector still has challenges in expanding and growing its mission, given the constraints in the overall market and political and legislative climate. That said, if the risks S&P Global Ratings has outlined over the past four years persist, and the emerging risks prevail, the sector could be negatively affected within the next two years, furthering its difficulty to access the market at pre-recession levels.
News Story
Waste Heat Energy Market: New Business Strategy Towards Carbon-Neutral Industries
The team of Terence Smith, Smith's Research & Gradings and Mohammad Ebrahim Feyz, Purdue University was one of eleven teams out of 127 who were selected as finalists in The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Center for Collective Intelligence Solve CO challenge. The duo — Team Hydromania — presented their solution at the United Nations in New York.
MIT's Climate CoLab has a growing, global community of over 75,000 working together to develop innovative and effective proposals on how to tackle the climate change problem. Scientists were invited to submit solutions that would solve the world's problems caused by carbon-based fuels.
Mr. Feyz and Mr. Smith met each other last year during the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) RECS program, a study course about carbon capture and sequestration. The RECS program attracts scientists to apply from all over the world, but only 20 are selected to participate.
Waste heat of some industries is sufficient to drive smaller businesses. What if there was a market to sell/buy that waste heat? The main focus of Team Hydro's solution is a proposal where waste heat suppliers and consumers can both engage in a win-win deal.
News Story
Infrastructure Report Card: D+
Brian Pallasch, Managing Director of Government Relations and Infrastructure Initiatives with the American Society of Civil Engineers spoke at Smith's State and Local Government Conference on a panel about America's infrastructure. While he could not share the new Report Card at the time, last week the American Society of Civil Engineers released its newest report card on the nation's infrastructure and stated, "Our nation is at a crossroads. Deteriorating infrastructure is impeding our ability to compete in the thriving global economy, and improvements are necessary to ensure our country is built for the future. While we have made some progress, reversing the trajectory after decades of underinvestment in our infrastructure requires transformative action from Congress, states, infrastructure owners, and the American people."
How bad is it? D+ POOR, AT RISK
The infrastructure is in poor to fair condition and mostly below standard, with many elements approaching the end of their service life. A large portion of the system exhibits significant deterioration. Condition and capacity are of serious concern with strong risk of failure.
News Story
Amtrack Disaster Underscores Need to Fund Hudson Tunnel
Amtrak's debilitation of Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan last week served to underscore the need to finance and construct a new tunnel under the Hudson River. Considered one of the most important transportation projects in the nation, the new tunnel is a major component of Amtrak's $24 billion Gateway Program to repair and expand its U.S. northeast transportation corridor.
The impact of the tunnel construction would be felt mostly around a one block area, just east of the heavily travelled West Side Highway and south of 30th Street. Under a 'cut-and-cover method' also used on other projects throughout the city, 30th Street would be dug up and covered over, so construction could continue underneath. It is expected to take seven years to finish.
New Jersey Transit is taking the lead by starting an environmental study. The Hudson River Park Trust and state historic preservation societies are being consulted to address concerns about the debris and rip-rack that form the Hudson River's edge.
News Story
S&P Downgrades Illinois Universities and Chicago Colleges
S&P took action last Thursday on $22 bln. of bonds relating to the financing of Illinois higher education schools, because Springfield lawmakers and Gov. Bruce Rauner may fail to agree on an annual budget by the scheduled end of the legislative session May 31.
S&P downgraded the State's largest institution, The University of Illinois, to A' from A+. S&P kept the rating three notches above the general state rating of BBB.
Southern Illinois University's credit rating was dropped into the junk level to BB from BBB, while ratings for Northeastern Illinois and for Eastern Illinois universities fell deeper into junk, at B from BB. Western Illinois University's rating was cut to BB- from BBB- and Governors State University's rating was downgraded to BB from BB+.
S&P also lowered the rating four notches to BBB from A+ for the City Colleges of Chicago, which operates seven community colleges. The colleges' credit hours dropped 22 percent from 2010-16. The ratings were placed on a watch list for a potential subsequent downgrades.
2.06
2.27
3.13
4.10
5.01
A LITTLE ABOUT US
SMITH’s Research & Gradings is a financial credit grading company that conducts research and creates unique credit reports using its own proprietary grading system.
SMITH’s Research & Gradings provides research and disseminates credit gradings on securities sold both on a new issue basis as well as in the secondary markets.
SMITH’s Research & Gradings mission is to provide real-time intelligence that provides greater accuracy and predictability to decision-makers.
SMITH’s Research & Gradings written manifesto stated its raison d’être was to provide independent, principles-based credit analytics.
Over the past 24 years, SMITH’s Research & Gradings has constantly improved and enhanced its credit analytics to better serve investors.
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Smith's Research & Gradings, has become a bellwether research company, often predicting significant trends and spotlighting controversial subjects sometimes months before they come to light elsewhere. SMITH’s provides independent research and third-party analysis for institutional investors. Smith's analysis is an indispensable part of Wall Street and the world's capital markets.
Smith's Research & Gradings
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Great Falls, VA 22066
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"Smith's ability to analyze and comment on market conditions is highly regarded. "
“Smith's is at the central nerve center of the municipal bond community. Terry Smith is the most visible proponent of municipal research in the industry. Terry has done so much for so many in the business and has had a great impact on the profession.”
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“Smith's Conference series provide unique forums for investors and issuers to discuss matters of mutual interest”
The size of this event made networking so appropriate. This was one of my most beneficial events that I've attended since I started in my role 2 years ago.
