MarketWatch – May 30, 2012 – By Business Wire

ALEXANDRIA, Va., May 30, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) — The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) today launched an online “toolkit” to equip investors with basic information about navigating the municipal market.

Individual investors own about two-thirds of the nearly $3.7 trillion in outstanding municipal securities, either directly or through mutual funds. A central focus of the MSRB’s mission is protecting these individual investors and ensuring that they have the information they need to understand the features of municipal bonds and make appropriate decisions.

The MSRB’s investor toolkit on www.msrb.org includes an investor guide with sections outlining questions to ask when investing in municipal bonds, how to evaluate a municipal bond’s risk and what to expect from financial professionals, among other resources. Investors can have the best outcomes in terms of decision-making by preparing for a conversation with a financial professional.

“The MSRB is committed to providing investors with free, objective and independent information about how the municipal market works,” said MSRB Chair Alan Polsky. “Our goal with this new toolkit is to help existing and prospective municipal bond investors gain confidence in their ability to evaluate, purchase and monitor municipal bond investments.”

The toolkit also includes an introductory video and fact sheets about the disclosures and services available through the MSRB’s Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA(R)) website. For example, EMMA users can subscribe to free email alerts when new disclosure documents are posted or trades are reported for individual municipal securities.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) protects investors, issuers of municipal securities and entities whose credit stands behind municipal securities, and public pension plans by promoting a fair and efficient municipal market. The MSRB fulfills this mission by regulating securities firms, banks and municipal advisors that engage in municipal securities and advisory activities. To further protect market participants, the MSRB promotes disclosure and market transparency through its Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA) website, provides education and conducts extensive outreach. The MSRB has operated under Congressional mandate with oversight by the Securities and Exchange Commission since 1975.