Web Site to Post Muni Bond Trading Data

Help for muni bond investors: The Bond Market Assn. plans to post municipal bond trading reports on its Internet site, giving individuals a price gauge many didn’t have before.

The site will list the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s daily reports on frequently traded muni bonds starting in November. There will be no charge to use the site.

The Web site (https://www.investinginbonds.com) will allow investors to see transaction reports by state or search by maturity or other criteria.

The bonds will be listed with credit ratings and yields.

The information could help solve a common complaint about the $1.3-trillion market for tax-free muni bonds: that it’s hard for individual investors to gauge what’s a fair price when they buy or sell individual bonds.

This is “an important step to improve transparency in the municipal bond market,” said Heather Ruth, president of the Chicago-based association.