These instruments typically include bonds, loans, and other debt securities. The income generated from fixed-income investments is usually in the form of periodic interest payments, known as coupon payments, and the return of principal at maturity. Fixed-income investments are considered less risky than equities and can offer a stable income stream, making them popular among conservative investors.
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3 articles · 38 min
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Bond Pricing & Yield to Maturity: Complete Guide
Learn how to calculate bond prices and yield to maturity (YTM) with step-by-step formulas and examples for annual and semi-annual coupon bonds.
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Interest Rate Risk: Duration, Convexity & Hedging
Comprehensive guide to interest rate risk — how duration, convexity, and key rate duration measure bond price sensitivity, with hedging strategies including…
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Spot Rates and Forward Rates: Complete Guide
Learn the difference between spot rates and forward rates, how to calculate forward rates from spot rates, and how bootstrapping extracts zero-coupon yields…
Fixed Income Essentials
9 parts · 1½ hours
Bond Duration: Macaulay, Modified & Effective Duration Explained
Complete guide to bond duration — Macaulay, Modified, and Effective duration formulas with worked examples, interpretation guidelines, and practical…
Bond Convexity: What It Is and Why It Matters
Bond convexity measures the curvature of the price-yield relationship, capturing what duration misses. Learn the convexity formula, see how duration…
Riding the Yield Curve: Strategies and Examples
Learn how riding the yield curve works — buy longer-maturity bonds and sell before maturity to capture roll-down return.
Clean Price vs Dirty Price: Accrued Interest Explained
Learn the difference between clean price and dirty price in bond markets. This guide covers the accrued interest formula, day count conventions…
Interest Rate Swaps: How They Work with Examples
Learn how interest rate swaps work including plain vanilla swap structure, swap rate formula, step-by-step pricing example, hedging applications…
Forward Rate Agreements (FRAs): Pricing and Valuation
Complete guide to forward rate agreements (FRAs) — what they are, how FRA notation works, how to price an FRA from spot rates, how settlement is calculated…
Credit Risk: Probability of Default & Loss Given Default
Complete guide to credit risk measurement — probability of default (PD), loss given default (LGD), the expected loss formula, credit rating mappings…
Z-Spread vs G-Spread: Fixed Income Spread Analysis
Complete guide to Z-Spread and G-Spread — how each measures credit spread differently, when to use each in fixed income analysis, and how they compare…
Loan Amortization: How It Works with Examples
Loan amortization is the process of repaying a debt through scheduled payments that cover both principal and interest.
Bond & Money Market Instruments
17 parts · 3 hours
Money Market Instruments: T-Bills, Commercial Paper, Repos & More
Money market instruments are short-term debt securities with maturities of one year or less. Learn about T-bills, commercial paper, negotiable CDs, repos…
Repurchase Agreements: How Repos Work in Fixed Income Markets
Learn how repurchase agreements (repos) work, including repo mechanics, tri-party vs bilateral structure, haircuts, GC vs special collateral…
U.S. Treasury Securities: Bills, Notes, Bonds & STRIPS
Learn how U.S. Treasury securities work, including T-bills, T-notes, T-bonds, and STRIPS. Understand Treasury auctions, primary dealers, on-the-run…
Treasury STRIPS & Auctions: Zero-Coupon Treasuries & Auction Mechanics
Learn how Treasury STRIPS transform coupon bonds into zero-coupon securities and how Treasury auctions work, including single-price bidding, competitive…
TIPS & Inflation-Indexed Bonds: Real Yields & Breakeven Inflation
Learn how Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) protect purchasing power through CPI-U principal adjustment, calculate breakeven inflation rates…
Federal Agency Securities: GSEs, Ginnie Mae, and Agency Debt Explained
Learn about federal agency securities including GSEs (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHLB), Ginnie Mae government guarantees, agency debt instruments, and credit…
Municipal Bonds: General Obligation vs Revenue Bonds & Tax-Exempt Investing
Municipal bonds offer tax-exempt income for individual investors. Learn the difference between general obligation and revenue bonds, how to evaluate municipal…
Tax-Equivalent Yield: Comparing Municipal vs Taxable Bonds
Tax-equivalent yield converts tax-exempt municipal bond yields to their taxable equivalents, enabling apples-to-apples comparison with corporate bonds…
Preferred Stock: Features, Yields & Valuation
A comprehensive guide to preferred stock covering types, features, yields, DRD tax treatment, and comparison to bonds and common stock.
Emerging Markets Debt: Sovereign Bonds, Hard Currency & EM Credit Spreads
Emerging market debt offers higher yields than developed-market bonds but with sovereign credit risk and currency exposure.
Non-Agency MBS: Private Label Securities, Credit Enhancement & Subprime Analysis
Non-agency MBS are mortgage-backed securities without government guarantees. Learn about private-label MBS types, credit enhancement structures, subordination…
Asset-Backed Securities (ABS): Auto Loans, Student Loans & Equipment Leases
Asset-backed securities (ABS) are bonds backed by pools of consumer and commercial loans, offering investors exposure to auto loans, student loans, equipment…
Credit Card ABS: Master Trusts, Excess Spread & Early Amortization
Learn how credit card ABS work, including master trust structures, excess spread calculations, and early amortization triggers.
Leveraged Loan Trading: Secondary Market, Settlement & Valuation
Master leveraged loan trading mechanics including LSTA documentation, T+7 settlement, bid-ask spreads, mark-to-market valuation, and distressed loan trading…
Stable Value Fund: GICs, Wrap Contracts & Defined Contribution Plans
Learn how stable value funds work in 401(k) plans: GICs, synthetic GICs, wrap contracts, crediting rate mechanics, and comparisons to money market and bond…
Variable Life Insurance: VL, VUL & Separate Account Investing From Personal Finance
Variable life insurance combines death benefit protection with investment subaccounts, transferring investment risk to the policyholder in exchange for market…
TBA Market & Dollar Rolls: Agency MBS Forward Trading & Settlement
Learn how the TBA market works for agency MBS trading. Covers forward settlement conventions, the 48-hour rule, dollar rolls, good delivery guidelines, spec…
Bond Analysis & Portfolio Strategy
12 parts · 2 hours
Callable Bonds & Embedded Options: OAS, Effective Duration & Valuation
Understanding how call provisions affect bond pricing, why option-adjusted spread (OAS) matters, and how effective duration differs from modified duration…
Floating-Rate Bonds: Features, Spread Measures & SOFR Transition
Learn how floating-rate bonds reset their coupons based on reference rates like SOFR, understand spread measures (quoted margin vs discount margin)…
Corporate Bond Credit Analysis: How to Evaluate Creditworthiness
Learn how to analyze corporate bonds using financial ratios, industry considerations, and indenture provisions to evaluate creditworthiness beyond relying…
High-Yield Bond Investing: Returns, Risks & Portfolio Strategies
High-yield bonds offer higher income than investment-grade bonds but carry significant default risk. Learn the risk-return tradeoff, historical default rates…
Bond Indexing Strategies: How Bond Index Funds Work
Learn how bond index funds work, why they use sampling instead of full replication, major bond indexes, tracking error sources, and bond ETF mechanics.
Cash Flow Matching & LDI: Liability-Driven Investing Explained
Learn what liability-driven investing (LDI) is, how cash flow matching differs from immunization, and how to apply LDI principles to retirement income planning.
Duration Times Spread (DTS): A Credit Risk Measure Explained
Complete guide to Duration Times Spread (DTS) — what it is, how to calculate it, why it matters for credit portfolios, and how it differs from spread duration.
Green Bonds & ESG Fixed Income: How Sustainable Bonds Work
Learn what green bonds are, how the Green Bond Principles work, the greenium debate, and how to invest in sustainable fixed income.
Bond Market Liquidity: OTC Trading, Bid-Ask Spreads & Risk
Learn why bond markets are less liquid than stock markets, how to measure liquidity using bid-ask spreads, understand dealer market-making, and manage…
Fixed Income Performance Attribution: Decomposing Bond Returns
Learn how to decompose bond portfolio returns into yield income, roll return, duration, spread, selection, and currency contributions.
Sovereign Bond Investing: Bunds, Gilts, JGBs & Global Government Debt
Learn how non-US sovereign bonds like German Bunds, UK Gilts, and Japanese JGBs offer diversification and yield opportunities, including currency risk, credit…
Factor Investing in Bonds: Carry, Value, Momentum & Quality
Learn how factor investing applies to fixed income: carry, value, momentum, and low-risk/quality factors in government and corporate bonds, plus how to access…
Repo Markets
8 parts · 1½ hours
Classic Repo vs Sell/Buy-Back: Legal Structure, Pricing & Trade Mechanics
Compare classic repo and sell/buy-back structures: legal documentation (GMRA), forward pricing mechanics, coupon treatment differences, and when to use…
Stock Lending vs Repo: When to Use Each Securities Financing Tool
Compare stock lending and repo transactions: fee-based vs interest-based compensation, rebate rates, operational differences, and when to use each securities…
Dollar Rolls: MBS Financing, Drop Calculation & Break-Even Analysis
Learn how MBS dollar rolls work as a financing mechanism, including the implied financing rate formula, break-even drop calculation, and when to roll vs repo.
Special Repo Rates: Scarcity Premium, Trading Specials & Short Squeeze Dynamics
Learn how special repo rates develop when bonds face high borrowing demand. Covers Duffie pricing model, short squeeze dynamics, fails charge mechanics…
Repo Trading Strategies: Matched Book, Credit Intermediation & Yield Curve Plays
Professional repo trading strategies including matched book market-making, credit intermediation arbitrage, and yield curve spread trades.
Implied Repo Rate & Basis Trading: Cash-and-Carry Arbitrage Explained
Learn how to calculate the implied repo rate, understand gross vs net basis, identify the cheapest-to-deliver bond, and master cash-and-carry arbitrage in bond…
Repo in ALM: Liquidity Gap, Interest Rate Gap & Funding Strategy
How banks use repo to manage liquidity gaps, interest rate gaps, and funding strategy within the ALM framework.
GMRA Master Agreement: Legal Structure, Close-Out Netting & Margin Mechanics
The GMRA is the standard legal agreement for repo transactions internationally. Learn how title transfer, close-out netting, and margin provisions protect…
Structured Products
3 parts · 38 min
Mortgage-Backed Securities: How MBS Work, Types, and Risks Explained
Mortgage-backed securities (MBS) are bonds backed by pools of mortgage loans. Learn how securitization works, the differences between pass-through MBS, CMOs…
Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs): Structure, Tranches, and How They Work
A collateralized debt obligation (CDO) is a structured product that pools cash-flow-generating debt assets and repackages them into tranches with different…
Convertible Bonds: What They Are, How They Work, and Key Terms
A convertible bond is a corporate bond that gives the holder the right to convert the bond into shares of the issuer stock, combining bond safety with equity…
Portfolio Construction & Management
1 part · 13 min
Bond Immunization & Cash Flow Matching Strategies From Portfolio Management
Bond immunization constructs a fixed-income portfolio that earns a predetermined return over a specified horizon by balancing price risk against reinvestment…
Commercial Real Estate Finance
1 part · 13 min
CMBS: Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities Explained From Commercial Real Estate
A guide to CMBS — how commercial mortgages are pooled into trusts, structured into tranches with senior-to-first-loss waterfall priority, rated by credit…
More articles
2 articles · 19 min
Inverted Yield Curve Explained
An inverted yield curve means short Treasury yields exceed long yields. Explore its causes, key spreads, real examples, and limits as a recession signal.
Understand how the yield curve connects Treasury maturities, Fed policy, inflation and term premiums, with historical examples and clear spread calculations.
Tools for this topic
- Repo Rate CalculatorFree online calculator Excel model: Repo Rate Calculator
- Bond Duration CalculatorFree online calculator
- TVM CalculatorFree online calculator Excel model: TVM Calculator
- Forward Rates CalculatorFree online calculator
- Tax-Equivalent Yield CalculatorFree online calculator Excel model: Tax-Equivalent Yield Calculator
- Bond Immunization CalculatorFree online calculator Excel model: Bond Immunization Calculator
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