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 As a self-regulatory organization
that must be a diligent steward of its resources, the MSRB supports public
accountability and corporate transparency. To further demonstrate our commitment,
last month we released a budget summary for
fiscal year 2018. Communicating about
how we allocate resources is critical to providing transparency to our stakeholders
and underscores our public-purpose
mission. Publishing our budget allows us to demonstrate the alignment between our strategic goals and our allocation of resources, reiterate our emphasis on
a fair and equitable fee structure for regulated entities, and explain our
approach to maintaining appropriate organizational reserve levels.
Our 2018 budget is based on identified financial
priorities, including fair and equitable balance of fees, diversification of
revenues, revenue expectations that account for volatile market activity and
strict management of expenses. Ensuring appropriate revenue and expense levels
and overall financial sustainability of the MSRB is a top organizational
priority. Read more about the MSRB’s projected
revenue on page 5 of the budget summary and learn about our expenses on page 6.
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 We
also closely monitor our reserves, looking not only to our current position but
also to projected trends. This year’s budget lays out a plan to responsibly
manage down excess reserves in a manner that supports the fair and equitable
balance of fees while above all, preserving the financial sustainability of the
MSRB so that it can continue its statutory obligation to oversee the municipal
securities market and protect investors, municipal entities and the public
interest. Learn about our reserves on page 9 of
the budget summary.
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Outcomes of MSRB Board Decisions on
Strategic Initiatives
During its quarterly meeting last week, the MSRB Board of
Directors discussed several topics related to its strategic initiatives to
support regulatory compliance and further evolve the MSRB’s Electronic
Municipal Market Access (EMMA®) website into an essential municipal market utility.
To ensure that the MSRB’s compliance support activities
leverage the experience and perspectives of regulated entities and other
stakeholders, the Board approved publishing a request for comment in November to
solicit public input on how the MSRB can best assist municipal securities
dealers and municipal advisors in understanding, implementing and complying
with current MSRB rules. In addition, the MSRB established a compliance advisory
group that will
provide expertise and input to the Board to help inform the organization’s
long-term strategic goal to facilitate industry understanding of and compliance
with MSRB rules.
The Board also discussed the MSRB’s ongoing work
to further evolve the EMMA website into an industry-leading platform that meets
the needs of market participants and established guiding principles for future
functionality and improving the overall user experience of the website. The
MSRB has been engaged in a year-long series of focus groups that included
retail investors, issuers, broker-dealers, municipal advisors, dissemination
agents and others to inform its approach. “Nearly 10 years after creating EMMA,
we are rethinking and reexamining its future,” said MSRB Executive Director
Lynnette Kelly. “Our principles will guide decisions about that path.” Read
about the principles here. Read the full Board meeting summary here.
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The MSRB recently added new market-wide trading statistics to
its EMMA® website that for the first time allow EMMA users to view
aggregate trading activity in each state and territory. From EMMA’s “Tools and
Resources” page, select “Market Statistics.” Click the “State Trade
Statistics” link to view the number of securities, par volume and number of
trades in each state for the most recent trading day. The data can be filtered
by date ranges, tax status and trade type.
The availability of market-wide statistics on EMMA supports
the MSRB’s long-term effort to improve access to tools and information that
help municipal market participants analyze trends and improve understanding of
the market.
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MSRB Highlights Concerns for Retail
Investors in Muni Market
In
a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of the
Investor Advocate last month, the MSRB emphasized its concerns about
municipal market practices that pose risks for retail investors, and reiterated
its commitment to enhancing transparency and fairness in the municipal market
through a continued focus on pricing and disclosure. Read the full letter.
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 MuniEdPro® is the MSRB’s suite of interactive, online courses
designed specifically for municipal market participants. Courses can benefit
anyone looking to reinforce understanding of MSRB rules or to strengthen market
knowledge. MuniEdPro® courses may be used to help fulfill the firm-element component of
continuing education requirements for regulated entities depending on your
firm’s annual written training plan. Enhance your firm's
compliance program by offering your municipal finance professionals the full MuniEdPro® course catalog
at the discounted rate of $100 per person. The discounted rate, which is available from October
1 to December 31, 2017, is a $270 value per person, saving firms over
60 percent on the full course catalog.
For more
information about MuniEdPro® or to inquire about taking advantage of discounted subscription pricing, contact Ritta McLaughlin at rmclaughlin@msrb.org or 202-838-1306.
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 Compliance Outreach Program for
Municipal Advisors
Wednesday, November 8, 2017
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. ET
Join the SEC, MSRB and FINRA via webcast for
the Compliance Outreach Program for Municipal Advisors. Topics of discussion
will focus on the duties and standards of conduct for non-solicitor municipal
advisors under MSRB Rule G-42 and the Securities and Exchange Act of
1934, as well as municipal advisor compliance with rules concerning
supervision, registration and books and records. View the agenda. Register to attend via webcast.
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