investors searching for income were buoyed by the move higher in the 10year treasury yield but there are also some other opportunities to bring in some cash on tuesday the yield on the benchmark 10year treasury touched a high of 3983 its highest level since nov 10 amid expectations that the federal reserve will keep interest rates higher for longer the yield was last lower by 1 basis point at 3912 yields move inversely to prices meanwhile the stock market is struggling the earlyyear rally has lost steam and the major averages ended february with losses  the s  p 500 has a dividend yield of 164 that may have investors on the hunt for income those interested in the relative safety of treasurys can build a ladder of varying maturities  however another way to earn yield is through municipal bonds  which may particularly appeal to high earners in hightax states thanks to its tax advantages munis the debt securities are issued by government entities such as a state or city and raise funds for public projects such as building schools or roads they are generally free of federal taxes on interest and may avoid state and local levies depending on where you live its not going to be us federal government guaranteed like a treasury but it will be guaranteed by the municipality explained certified financial planner ian weinberg ceo of family wealth and pension management a oneyear aaa rated municipal bond has a 3147 yield to worst as of friday according to raymond james weekly interest rate monitor report a 10year aaa rated muni has a yield to worst of 2616 a yield to worst is the lowest possible yield on a bond can have without defaulting the taxequivalent yield which is the return a taxable bond would have to yield in order to compete with the muni is 4996 for a oneyear and 4153 for a 10 year munis are a deal we see them as a great alternative to taxables at this point if you can build the right portfolio weinberg said that means working with an institutional money manager who can do the credit research something he thinks shouldnt be done by individuals he said they can blend a with aa and aaa and you can get better yields weinberg explained in fact a good signal to buy munis is when their yields are at least 85 of corresponding treasury yields he said thats because with a treasury you are paying tax on your interest earnings therefore even if a highly rated muni bond of the same duration has a yield that is lower you still may be earning more since they generally arent being taxed right now munis are yielding about 90 to 95 of what treasurys are yielding weinberg said investors can also buy municipal bond funds to get exposure to the market cfp david sheaff gilreath partner and chief investment officer at sheaff brock investment advisors prefers funds and believes intermediate munis in the sweet spot they dont have the duration risk of the longer maturities but the yields are comparable he said plus many state and local governments are flush with surpluses so credit quality in the municipal bond market is much stronger than in the recent past that could help munibond funds ride out a recession that could hurt corporate bonds he said corporates investment grade corporate bonds also have high yields however they bring more risk than government bonds since you are buying corporate debt investors can buy them in 1000 increments for a bond to be considered investment grade it should be rated baa or above by moodys or bbb and above by s  p and fitch the shorter the bonds duration or average maturity the less interestrate risk you have the risk picks up the farther out you go investors can also get exposure through a diversified exchange traded fund such as the ishares iboxx  investment grade corporate bond etf  funds are liquid so its easy to trade in and out of them the issue is that during times of volatility there may be a lot of outflows