Bonds & Fixed Income in Depth
Learn to price bonds, measure interest-rate and credit risk, and choose between government, corporate, inflation-linked and foreign bonds, single bonds and funds for the fixed-income part of a portfolio.
Self-study course Self-study course: written lessons, videos and downloadable materials for independent learning. There is no supervision, assessment, individual feedback or tutoring. Self-check quizzes are evaluated automatically in your browser — we do not see your results.
All 13 lessons free
Before you start
- Basic percentage and compound-interest calculations
- The difference between investing and trading
- A first idea of how interest rates and inflation work
What you will be able to do
- Calculate a bond's price, current yield and yield to maturity from its cash flows
- Estimate price changes with modified duration, DV01 and convexity
- Interpret yield-curve shapes, sovereign spreads and corporate credit spreads in basis points
- Compare nominal and inflation-linked bonds using break-even inflation
- Work out the full cost of buying a bond in Germany, including accrued interest
- Plan a fixed-income allocation with ladders, funds or single bonds that fits a stated goal
Lessons in this course
Coupon, Price and Yield to Maturity in Depth
Price a bond from its cash flows, distinguish coupon, current yield and yield to maturity, and estimate a yield by hand.
Duration and Convexity: Measuring Interest-Rate Sensitivity
Calculate Macaulay and modified duration, use convexity to refine the estimate, and size interest-rate risk in euros.
The Yield Curve: Shapes, Inversions and What They Signal
Read yield-curve shapes and spreads, calculate an implied forward rate and roll-down return, and judge inversion signals with care.
Government Bonds: Bunds, Treasuries and Euro-Area Spreads
Know the German and US government bond segments, compare annual and semi-annual yields, and measure what a change in euro-area spreads does to a price.
Corporate Bonds: Credit Ratings, Spreads and Default Risk
Read credit ratings, split a credit spread into expected loss and risk premium, and understand seniority and covenants.
High-Yield Bonds and the Credit Cycle
Understand how high-yield bonds behave across the credit cycle and calculate portfolio returns under different default scenarios.
Inflation-Linked Bonds: Real Yields and Break-Even Inflation
Calculate inflation-adjusted principal and coupons, derive break-even inflation from nominal and real yields, and judge when a linker beats a nominal bond.
Buying bonds in Germany: exchanges, accrued interest and costs
Learn where private investors in Germany buy single bonds, how the invoice price with accrued interest is built and how costs reduce your yield.
Bond ladders and holding to maturity
Build a bond ladder step by step and understand what holding to maturity protects against and what it does not.
Bond funds and ETFs versus single bonds
Compare bond funds and ETFs with single bonds on maturity, rate risk, costs and diversification, and choose the right tool for a goal.
Money-market rates, deposits and the ECB deposit rate
Understand how the ECB's key rates set the short end of the euro market and compare deposits, Bubills and money-market funds.
Currency and foreign bonds for euro investors
Calculate how exchange-rate moves and hedging costs change the return of foreign bonds for a euro-based investor.
Building the fixed-income part of a portfolio
Combine purpose, horizon, duration, credit quality, currency and vehicle choice into a written plan for the bond part of a portfolio.
Real Estate & REITs
To apply interest rates, leverage and income thinking to property, continue with the course "Real Estate & REITs".
View course outline