The Fundamentals of Municipal Bonds: Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, Sixth Edition

As of the end of 1998, municipal bonds, issued by state or local governments to finance public works programs, such as the building of schools, streets, and electrical grids, totaled almost $1.5 trillion in outstanding debt, a number that has only increased over time. The market for these bonds is comprised of many types of professionals—investment bankers, underwriters, traders, analysts, attorneys, rating agencies, brokers, and regulators—who are paid interest and principal according to a fixed schedule. Intended for investment professionals interested in how US municipal bonds work, The Fundamentals of Municipal Bonds, Sixth Edition explains the bond contract and recent changes in this market, providing investors with the information and tools they need to make bonds reliable parts of their portfolios.

• The market is very different from when the fifth edition was published more than ten years ago, and this revision reasserts Fundamentals of Municipal Bonds as the preeminent text in the field
• Explores the basics of municipal securities, including the issuers, the primary market, and the secondary market
• Key areas, such as investing in bonds, credit analysis, interest rates, and regulatory and disclosure requirements, are covered in detail
• This revised edition includes appendixes, a glossary, and a list of financial products related to applying the fundamentals of municipal bonds
• An official book of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA)

With today's financial market in recovery and still highly volatile, investors are looking for a safe and steady way to grow their money without having to invest in stocks. The bond market has always been a safe haven, although confusing new bonds and bond funds make it increasingly difficult for unfamiliar investors to decide on the most suitable fixed income investments.

About the Author

Neil A. O'Hara is a freelance financial writer with intimate knowledge of domestic and international markets. His articles, written primarily for magazines aimed at professionals in the financial services industry, cover a wide range of subjects from hedge funds, private equity, and corporate governance to market and industry reviews as well as more technical topics, including exchange traded funds, options, securitization, credit derivatives, securities lending, prime brokerage, risk management, and financial industry regulations.

Before he became a professional writer in 2002, O'Hara worked in the financial services industry for more than 28 years. He spent 15 years with the British merchant bank, Morgan Grenfell, where he was an investment analyst, an advisor on merger and corporate finance transactions, and head of a merger arbitrage-trading desk. From 1988 to 2000, O'Hara managed merger arbitrage portfolios at three hedge funds, including his own firm. He joined Deutsche Bank in 2001 to manage an international merger arbitrage fund, leaving at the end of that year to begin his writing career.

Born and raised in England, O'Hara moved to New York in 1980 and is a naturalized United States citizen. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering and economics from the University of Warwick.