WASHINGTON — The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has created an advisory group and asked users of its Electronic Municipal Market Access, EMMA, website to respond to a survey to better understand how the site is used and how it can be improved.
EMMA makes publicly available for free issuers' muni bond offering refunding documents, continuing disclosures, dealers' trade data and other information.
The MSRB said the EMMA Development Advisory Group, made up of 11 volunteers representing various parts of the muni market, will advise it "on the evolution of EMMA as described in the 2012 Long-Range Plan for Market Transparency Products."
The board, which had also talked with focus groups in October and November, is currently working on changes to EMMA's homepage and navigation based on feedback from issuers. They are to be implemented next year.
The advisory group met for the first time on Wednesday.
"The MSRB greatly appreciates the willingness of this group of municipal market professionals and others to share their time and input to inform the ongoing development of EMMA," said MSRB executive director Lynnette Kelly.
The group's members include: Daniel Bergstresser, associate professor of finance at Brandeis International Business School; Jonathan Biango, an associate at Lamont Financial Services Corp.; Todd Frazier, a managing director at PFM Group; Dan Kiley, director of municipal fixed income trading at Wells Fargo Advisors; Mark Kim, chief financial officer at the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority; and Christopher Martin, a portfolio manager for municipal investments at Loews Corp.
Other members are: John McNally, a partner at Hawkins, Delafield & Wood LLP; Thalia Meehan, team leader of the tax-exempt group at Putnam Investments; Ray Petty, a senior attorney at Florida's division of bond finance; Donna Simonetti, executive director and compliance director at JPMorgan Chase & Co.; and Judy Wesalo Temel, a principal and director of credit research at Samson Capital Advisors.
In its survey, the MSRB is asking users about: the role they play in the market; how much time they spend on munis; how long they've been in the muni market; and how many individuals are in their organizations.
