Fixed Income Fundamentals, CFA L1 2016

This course will help candidates of CFA Level 1 prepare for the topic of Fixed Income. This course presents the fundamentals of fixed-income investments. Fixed income is one of the largest segments of global financial markets.

This topic area comprises of 10% of the entire CFA L1 curriculum and is considered as one of the toughest subjects to prepare for through self study.

The first reading introduces elements that define and characterize fixed-income securities. The second reading describes the primary issuers, sectors, and types of bonds. The third reading introduces calculation and interpretation of prices, yields, and spreads for fixed-income securities; market conventions for price/yield calculations and quotations; and spot rates, forward rates, and alternative definitions of a yield curve. The fourth reading describes the sources of return on fixed-income securities and measures and analysis of interest rate risk. The final reading introduces measures and analysis of credit risk of fixed income securities.

The course will be completed in 8 lectures, none exceeding 20 minutes.