Investortools is proud to announce its participation as both an exhibitor and sponsor at the 2026 National Federation of Municipal Analysts (NFMA) Annual Conference. The conference serves as a vital forum for examining the trends, challenges, and innovations shaping municipal credit markets.
This year’s event also marks a significant milestone — the 40th anniversary of Merritt Research Services, an Investortools company. Merritt is the industry’s leading provider of standardized municipal data and the foundation for CreditScope™.
Bringing Infrastructure Risk into Focus
Richard A. Ciccarone, President Emeritus of Merritt Research Services and cofounder of the NFMA, is a featured speaker at the event. In his panel session, Ciccarone will tackle one of the most important, yet underrecognized, forces shaping municipal credit risk: aging infrastructure. Capital assets and infrastructure deterioration pose significant long-term fiscal pressure for governments, but they are rarely captured within traditional credit analysis.
Drawing on analysis of more than 2,000 U.S. cities, Ciccarone’s discussion will introduce a data-driven framework for quantifying the inflation-adjusted replacement cost of depleted infrastructure. His research treats infrastructure maintenance as a long-term obligation—placing it alongside debt and pension liabilities in the credit conversation. Failure to address failing infrastructure can impact key credit ratios, issuer rankings, and municipal bond outcomes.
The session will also help equip analysts with a more complete lens for evaluating credit quality and demonstrate why integrating capital asset and infrastructure insight into credit workflows is increasingly critical for accurate risk assessment, relative value analysis, and long-term investment decision-making.
Supporting the Municipal Bond Community
As municipal markets grow more complex, credit teams face increasing pressure to deliver deeper insight, faster analysis, and stronger risk assessment. Investortools addresses these demands by combining Merritt Research’s standardized municipal data and trusted credit intelligence with a modern, end-to-end investment platform.
Together, they help firms centralize data, streamline research and surveillance, and apply consistent analytics across portfolios—building a scalable foundation for rigorous credit analysis and more confident investment decisions.
Meet the Team
Connect with the Investortools team to learn how its platform is helping firms streamline workflows, enhance decision-making, and scale operations across the investment lifecycle.
Representing Investortools at this year’s NFMA Annual Conference:
- Randy Soraich | Vice President, Head of Client Services
- Jason Anderson | Vice President, Account Executive
- Ryan Hecklinger | Vice President, Account Executive
- John Westergaard | Client Relationship Manager
- David O’Reagan | Client Relationship Manager
Join Us for Richard Ciccarone’s Panel
Panel: From Hidden Liabilities to Credit Insight: Quantifying Aging Infrastructure in Municipal Credit Analysis
When: Friday, May 12 | 9:00–10:00 AM ET
About Investortools
For more than four decades, Investortools has been a leading provider of solutions regarded by the industry as a prerequisite for fixed-income investment management. Its comprehensive product suite covers portfolio, order, and execution management, performance analytics, 2a-7 compliance, and credit analysis. Trusted by over 200 firms managing more than $1 trillion in assets, Investortools supports SMA managers, fund managers, broker-dealers, and other key market participants.
About National Federation of Municipal Analysts
The National Federation of Municipal Analysts (NFMA), established in 1983, is a not-for-profit association dedicated to fostering professionalism in municipal credit analysis. Committed to advancing the skills of its members, NFMA provides best-in-class educational programs, networking opportunities, and targeted advocacy. The organization emphasizes diversity, equity, and inclusion to enhance the municipal bond industry’s relevance, credibility, and effectiveness. NFMA’s goals include promoting professionalism in credit analysis, facilitating idea exchange through educational programs, advocating for industry issues, and improving issuer disclosure for better information flow among market participants.
