Schwab connects with Piper Jaffray on muni bonds

The Charles Schwab Corp. Ticker:(SCHW) is expanding investor access to municipal bonds through a partnership with Piper Jaffray Cos. Ticker:(PJC), a leading muni bond underwriter. The partnership will enable Schwab's clients to view and place orders for more new muni bond issues on Schwab's BondSource platform. “Our clients have asked for the ability to participate in regional new-issue municipal bond offerings, and we're thrilled that they'll be able to access a wide variety of specialized, regional deals now through Piper Jaffray,” Schwab senior vice president Peter Crawford said. The bonds available through Piper Jaffray are expected to complement the new-issue muni bonds already available to Schwab clients through the BondSource platform. According to Schwab, in the 12-month period through Aug. 31, clients had access to more than 930 new-issue offerings. Last year, Piper Jaffray, which ranked second nationally in number of senior managed long-term negotiated issues, acted as underwriter or financial adviser on 900 municipal bond transactions with an aggregate par value of $52 billion. “We are excited to join with Charles Schwab to expand our distribution reach, providing their clients with significant new-issue municipal opportunities and a broad range of secondary fixed-income offerings,” said Brad Winges, head of fixed-income services at Piper Jaffray.