Educational Resources

Public Finance Resources

Below are links to helpful resources, news outlets and educational information relating to the Public Finance industry. Boston Women in Public Finance takes no responsibility for the content of the websites listed below. They are provided as examples of resources for public finance practitioners and those interested in the field.

News

The Bond Buyer
http://www.bondbuyer.com
The Bond Buyer is a leading independent information and news resource serving the municipal finance community.

Industry Groups

Bond Dealers of America (BDA)
http://www.bdamerica.org
The Bond Dealers of America is the Washington, DC-based trade association that exclusively represents securities dealers and banks whose primary focus is the U.S. fixed income markets. BDA works passionately to promote public policies and market practices that improve the market environment while also providing a forum for its members to debate and discuss issues of common interest. The BDA acts as a clearinghouse for industry information and issues and provides educational opportunities for industry professionals through conferences, seminars and roundtables. By supporting the interests and prosperity of our members, we help to strengthen the companies, municipalities and investors who depend on them for both access to market liquidity and to raise the capital they need to grow and prosper.

Boston Municipal Analysts Forum (BMAF)
http://www.nfma.org/boston-municipal-analysts-forum
The Boston Municipal Analysts Forum (BMAF) is a not-for-profit association of municipal bond analysts located within the greater Boston area, and serves as the local affiliate of the National Federation of Municipal Analysts (NFMA). BMAF’s focus is to provide a forum for issues of interest to the municipal bond analyst community, encouraging professional development through discussions, meetings and presentations of issues deemed relevant to its members.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Investor Program 
http://www.massbondholder.com
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts created this investor website, which is dedicated to providing individual and institutional bond investors with the resources they need to learn more about the credit of the Commonwealth and its borrowing programs.Debt statements, monthly revenue reports, annual audits, links to the secondary market trading activity of outstanding Massachusetts bonds, key contacts and more can all be found on this site.

Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA)
http://gfoa.org
The GFOA, founded in 1906, represents public finance officials throughout the United States and Canada. Its mission is to enhance and promote the professional management of governmental financial resources by identifying, developing, and advancing fiscal strategies, policies, and practices for the public benefit. To meet the many needs of its members, the organization provides best practice guidance, consulting, networking opportunities, publications including books, e-books, and periodicals, recognition programs, research, and training opportunities for those in the public finance profession.

Massachusetts GFOA Section
http://gfoa.org/massachusetts-gfoa

New England GFOA Section
http://www.nesgfoa.org

National Association of Bond Lawyers (NABL)
http://www.nabl.org
The National Association of Bond Lawyers (NABL) was established in 1979 to promote the integrity of the municipal market through the education of its members in the laws affecting state and municipal bonds. NABL provides its members with a forum for the exchange of ideas as to law and practice, giving its members some of the tools that help them continually improve the state of the art in the field. NABL also provides commentary and recommendations at the federal, state and local levels with respect to legislation, regulations and rulings affecting bonds, and on occasion submits friend of the court briefs or memoranda in connection with court or administrative proceedings.

National Association of Municipal Advisors (NAMA)
http://municipaladvisors.org
The National Association of Municipal Advisors (NAMA) is a professional organization limited to firms that specialize in providing financial advice on bond sales and financial planning on public projects of public agencies. NAMA member firms must be completely independent of the underwriting of municipal securities by banks and securities dealers. Member firms must also be structured such that financial advice is not incidental to any other service.

National Federation of Municipal Analysts (NFMA)
http://www.nfma.org
The National Federation of Municipal Analysts (NFMA) was chartered in 1983. It is a not-for-profit association with the goals of promoting professionalism in municipal credit analysis and furthering the skill level of its members through educational programs and industry communication, providing an informed perspective in the formulation of legal and regulatory matters relating to the municipal finance industry, and facilitating the flow of information between investors and issuing entities.

North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) http://www.nasaa.org
Organized in 1919, NASAA is the oldest international organization devoted to investor protection. NASAA is a voluntary association whose membership consists of 67 state, provincial, and territorial securities administrators in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Canada, and Mexico.

In the United States, NASAA is the voice of state securities agencies responsible for efficient capital formation and grass-roots investor protection. Their fundamental mission is protecting consumers who purchase securities or investment advice, and their jurisdiction extends to a wide variety of issuers and intermediaries who offer and sell securities to the public.

NASAA members license firms and their agents, investigate violations of state and provincial law, file enforcement actions when appropriate, and educate the public about investment fraud.

Government and Regulatory Agencies

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)
http://www.finra.org
FINRA is an independent, not-for-profit organization authorized by Congress to protect America’s investors by making sure the securities industry operates fairly and honestly. It does this by writing and enforcing rules and regulations for every single brokerage firm and broker in the United States, and by examining broker-dealers for compliance with FINRA’s rules, federal securities laws and rules of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board. For specific materials relating to municipal bonds go to http://www.finra.org/investors/bonds.

Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB)
http://gasb.org
The GASB is the independent organization that establishes and improves standards of accounting and financial reporting for U.S. state and local government.

Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB)
http://msrb.org
The MSRB is a federal government securities regulatory agency that sets standards for municipal securities dealers. Its education center contains various materials designed to educate investors, state and local governments and other individuals about the municipal securities market. The MSRB’s EMMA is the official repository for information on virtually all municipal bonds, providing free access to official disclosures, trade data and other information about the municipal securities market. (http://emma.msrb.org/)

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission – Office of Municipal Securities http://www.sec.gov/municipal
The Office of Municipal Securities coordinates the SEC’s municipal securities activities, advises the Commission on policy matters relating to the municipal bond market and provides technical assistance in the development and implementation of major SEC initiatives in the municipal securities area. In addition, the Office assists the Division of Enforcement and other SEC Offices and Divisions on a wide array of municipal securities matters. The Office works closely with the municipal securities industry to educate state and local officials and conduit borrowers about the Commission’s rules and foster a thorough understanding of the Commission’s policies. In addition, it reviews and processes rule filings of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board and acts as the Commission’s liaison with the MSRB, FINRA, and a variety of industry groups on municipal securities issues.

Massachusetts Resources

Massachusetts Department of Revenue – Division of Local Services
http://www.mass.gov/dor/local-officials
The Division of Local Services (DLS) helps Massachusetts cities and towns achieve sound and efficient fiscal management through technical assistance, training, and oversight. Its bureaus are responsible for ensuring the fairness and equity of local property taxation, the accuracy and quality of local accounting and treasury management, interpreting state laws that affect local governance, distributing local aid, and maintaining a comprehensive databank on local finances.

The Massachusetts Office of Campaign & Political Finance
http://www.ocpf.us
This website contains information relating to Massachusetts campaign finance law and public financing law including access to reports, interpretive bulletins, memoranda, advisory opinions and guidance letters, among other materials.

Massachusetts Secretary of State – Securities Division
http://www.sec.state.ma.us
This website contains news and updates, enforcement information, registrations, inspections, compliance and examination (RICE) information, investor information and resources and links relating to corporate finance.

Massachusetts State Ethics Commission
http://www.mass.gov/ethics
This website contains information about the State Ethics Commission, the conflict of interest and financial disclosure laws, educational materials that clarify the laws, as well as publicly available advisories, legal opinions and enforcement matters.

Rating Agencies

The following rating agencies provide credit ratings and research covering debt instruments and securities.

Fitch Ratings
http://www.fitchratings.com

Kroll Bond Ratings Agency
https://www.krollbondratings.com

Moody’s Investors Service
http://www.moodys.com

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services
http://www.standardandpoors.com