Secondly, there exists another more widely accepted definition that has an even greater and more widespread basis of understanding and acceptance within the industry. In the Fixed Income arena, it is the trader who facilitates the execution of the transaction and provides the sales and marketing personnel with bids and offerings and information how and where markets are priced and where, in the trader's mind, they are of value. Fixed Income sales and trading is a tremendously large business. Just as there are thousands of different fixed income issues, there are hundreds of committing or positioning desks and thousands of execution desks throughout the country. The dollar volume of fixed income trading easily surpasses that of the stock market on a daily basis.
Institutions dominate the fixed income bond business except in the Municipal bond market.
Municipal Trading Of all the fixed income securities, Municipals, are probably the most difficult to trade, maintain markets and remain currently appraised. The ability to make conclusive and accurate value judgements about the pricing of many specific issues or groups of issues is also extremely difficult. Many traders rely on the input of a broker's broker, firms who service the municipal industry. The Bond Market Association offers an insured revenue bond scale daily on its Internet page. Many of the duties of a municipal trader are very difficult, pressure driven and time consuming functions.