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Retirees, minimize your costs when buying bonds

But small investors can incur hefty trading costs even in higher-quality, less-obscure bonds. Research firm Municipal Market Analytics offers this example: Looking at a California general-obligation bond maturing in 2037, there were two inter-dealer trades on the morning of March 17 at nearly the same price: $112.73 and $112.67. Three minutes later, a customer bought $50,000 worth of the bonds at $115.10—2.2% more. Less than an hour after that, a large investor buying $6.9 million worth of the bonds got something much closer to the inter-dealer price: $112.99.

Such price discrepancies can make the muni market "very difficult for an individual investor," says Thomas Doe, president of Municipal Market Analytics. The market actually resembles a "flea market," he says, "because you have this eclectic product, very inconsistent supply and demand, and you're just trying to match the product with a buyer."

Tim Holler