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Municipal Bonds Fundamentals

The course should also be useful to operations (back office) personnel, compliance and regulatory staff, IT professionals, or anyone else looking to further their knowledge of municipal securities.

16 Modules

Overview

Certificate

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Municipal bonds are a key component of the US bond market. With a 200-year history, the market for "munis" has grown to almost USD 4 trillion, representing around 10% of the overall bond market.

With their well-documented tax advantages, munis are an attractive proposition for fixed-income investors, while their lower yields make them a good source of financing for borrowers looking to raise capital to fund various public initiatives (such as the building of schools, hospitals, and highways). The market received a huge boost in 2009 with the introduction of a new type of security − Build America Bonds (BABs) − as one of the attempts to stimulate the economy. BABs opened up the municipal market to other fixed-income investors, including those outside the US.

The municipal bond market is huge. For that reason alone, you should know about it. But it’s also different. The market is largely exempt from the requirements that govern many other securities, including both the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Many issues are illiquid and thinly-traded. Transparency and price disclosure is also a problem in a market dominated by a relatively smaller number of dealers. Last, but not least, risk assessment can be complicated by non-timely and incomplete disclosure of municipalities’ financial condition.

These are just some of the reasons why you should take this course, which provides new and recent entrants to the banking and securities industry with a solid grounding in the fundamentals of the municipal bond market. The course should also be useful to operations (back office) personnel, compliance, and regulatory staff, IT professionals, or anyone else looking to further their knowledge of municipal securities.

Understanding the basics of municipal bonds and types
Market development
Regulations
Municipal Bonds MSRB Rules
General Obligation (GO) bonds
Revenue Bonds
Build America Bonds
Investing in Municipal bonds
Taxation
Risks

Newcomers to banks, securities firms, and fund management firms; experienced professionals looking to refresh their knowledge or obtain a broad perspective of the municipal bond market.