Securities and Exchange Commission Enforcement Director Andrew Ceresney said Thursday the SEC’s increasing attention to the municipal bond market and public pension funds is bearing fruit.

There’s increasing compliance with heightened disclosure requirements, Ceresney told the Securities Enforcement Forum in Washington, D.C.

He added the Commission has also succeed in raising awareness of the legal obligations of municipal bond market and public pension fund participants from issuers to underwriters to public finance lawyers.

Ceresney called the SEC’s dedication for enforcement in public finance to be as tough as it is in corporate securities because 69 percent of municipal bonds are held directly or indirectly by retail investors.

Yet he said investors looking to put their money in municipal bonds are at a disadvantage compared to when they check out stocks and corporate debt because municipal issuers are not required to file offering documents and quarterly and annual reports.

“The lack of transparency can make it difficult for retailer investors to find if they are getting a fair price,” Ceresney said.