Fixed Income (Bonds)
Master the mechanics of bond markets — from pricing and yield analysis to duration, credit risk, and the full spectrum of fixed income instruments.
Course Overview
What is Fixed Income (Bonds)?
Fixed income securities are the backbone of global financial markets — from government treasury bills to corporate bonds and structured products. This course gives you a deep, practical understanding of how bonds are priced, how yields move, and how fixed income fits into a broader investment portfolio. Whether you're preparing for the CFA exam or building a career in fixed income, this course covers everything you need.
Learning Objectives
What You Will Learn
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Bond mechanicsUnderstand bond structure — face value, coupon rate, maturity, yield to maturity, and price-yield relationships.
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Types of bondsDistinguish between Treasury bills, corporate bonds, zero-coupon bonds, floating-rate notes, and structured products.
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Yield curve analysisRead and interpret yield curves — normal, inverted, and flat — and understand what they signal about the economy.
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Duration & convexityMeasure and apply duration and convexity to quantify interest rate risk in fixed income portfolios.
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Credit riskUnderstand credit ratings, default risk, credit spreads, and how to analyse corporate bond issuers.
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Coupon structuresCompare fixed-rate, floating-rate, and zero-coupon bonds and their suitability for different investors.
Who Is This For?
Prerequisites & Who Should Enrol
- CFA candidates — Fixed Income is a major topic across all three CFA levels.
- Students in finance, economics, or business wanting to understand bond markets.
- Portfolio managers and analysts who work with or allocate to fixed income.
- Anyone moving from equities into fixed income who needs to fill knowledge gaps.
- No prerequisites required — the course builds from the ground up.
Got Questions?
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did bond markets become more volatile after the gold standard ended?
Once governments abandoned the gold standard, they could print money freely — leading to variable inflation rates. Since inflation erodes the real value of fixed payments, bond prices became much more sensitive to inflation expectations and interest rate changes.
What is the difference between a fixed-rate and a floating-rate bond?
A fixed-rate bond pays a constant coupon throughout its life regardless of market rates. A floating-rate bond's coupon resets periodically based on a benchmark (e.g. LIBOR or SOFR) plus a spread — providing natural protection against rising interest rates.
How important is Fixed Income for the CFA exam?
Fixed Income is one of the highest-weighted topics across CFA Level 1 and Level 2, and remains significant in Level 3 within the portfolio management context. Strong fixed income knowledge is essential for passing all three levels.