Course Description

Number of Modules: 7  |  Credit Hours: 20

UEC Credits: 2 

Final exam passing grade: 60%

Fixed Income teaches how to analyze, valuate and manage fixed-income securities. This course also describes the primary issuers, sectors and types of bonds, as well as yields and spreads that affect monetary policies on financial markets. Primary tools for valuation and analysis are also explained such as basic valuation theory and techniques for bonds and fixed-income investment valuation (interest rate, yield valuation, interest rate measurement and analysis).

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Modules

Expert advice and in-depth features

NOTE: The modular nature of this program allows different learners to tailor their courses to their needs. You may choose to take one course (for interest, or for a personal need), a series of courses (for career advancement, for example), or a series of modules (for professional certification preparedness in a particular field).

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Credit Hours:

A bond prospectus is a legal document that describes all the features of any debt instrument.This module explains the basics of a bond from the variety of coupon structures to the kinds of provisions for redemption and retirement of bonds. These lessons also explore the most common covenants of bond indentures, their typical embedded options and the basic methods of financing debt purchases.

Credit Hours:

Investing in bonds entails multiple risks. In this module, the risks are segregated and discussed independently. Interest risk, yield curve risk, reinvestment risk, liquidity risk, credit risk, event risk, inflation risk, exchange-rate risk, yield volatility. Interest rate risk is discussed in more depth for fixed coupon bonds, floating rate bonds, and bonds with embedded options. Duration is defined as a measure of interest rate sensitivity.m assets and liabilities, which allows it to operate.

Credit Hours:

Bonds are issued by Sovereigns, Agencies, municipalities, and corporations. This module describes the basic US Treasury bond instruments (bills, notes, bonds, and inflation protection securities) and coupon and principal STRIPS; mortgage backed securities and collateralized mortgage obligations that are mainly issued by Federal agencies. A rich variety of bond instruments are issued by corporations (corporate bonds, medium-term notes, structured notes, commercial paper, negotiable CDs, and bankers acceptances, asset backed securities, and collateralized debt obligations). The distribution methods for placing bonds in the primary market and secondary markets are also outlined.

Credit Hours:

The most common quantitative concepts for bonds are yields, yield spreads, and yield curves. This module covers the topic in depth: The basic theories of the term structure of interest rates and the corresponding yield curve shapes; the various yield spread measures; the effect of embedded options on yield spreads. LIBOR, the benchmark interest rate, is defined and its importance in fixed income funding is addressed.

Credit Hours:

This module presents a thorough explanation of the basic quantitative framework for the valuation of a typically fixed coupon-bearing and zero-coupon bond, which entails discounting future cash flows. Lessons also discuss the necessary adaptations for the valuation of floating rate bonds and the valuation of a bond as a function of the selection of the discount rate and as time to maturity declines. In addition, this module explains the arbitrage-free valuation method of a bond and its use for identifying trading opportunities.

Credit Hours:

This module presents an in-depth look into the three components of the return from investing in bonds with a focus on reinvestment risk that affects realized returns. Lessons also define and differentiate the nominal spread, the zero-volatility spread, and the option-adjusted spread. Finally, forward rate calculations are explained and used for bond valuation to be compared to the use of spot rates.

Credit Hours:

First and second order bond valuation sensitivity for changes in interest rates are examined in this module. The first order measures are based on the full valuation approach (scenario analysis) and the various duration measures (effective, modified, price value of a basis point (PVBP)). The second order measures are reflected in the bond’s convexity measures (effective, modified). Lessons also discuss the advantages and limitations of each measure.

Instructor

Dr. Efi (Efstathia) Pylarinou is a Fintech and Blockchain global influencer and advisor.

www.efipylarinou.com

She holds a Ph.D. in Finance and is a seasoned Wall Street professional.  She is No.3 influencer in the finance sector and No.1 woman influencer, by Refinitiv Global Social Media 2019. She is included in the Top 14 Women in Finance Influencers 2019 Onalytica, and the 2019 Onalytica Top 100 Wealth Management Influencer list

And in many more rankings.

She is the cofounder and author of Daily Fintech. She has over 184,000+ followers on Linkedin and 7,500 on Twitter.  Her domain focus is on innovations on Digital Wealth Management & Capital Markets.

She is a contributing author of the the 2019 4IR AI Blockchain Fintech IOT book and the 2018 WealthTech book by Wiley. She speaks frequently on Blockchain and Capital markets trends.

She holds a Ph.D. in Finance, an MBA and an undergraduate degree in Mathematics. Her thesis focused on a Chaotic Approach to stock market returns. Efi has worked on Wall Street in the fixed income Sales and Trading operations of three major Wall Street firms. She started at Salomon Brothers in the fixed income derivatives department in researching and marketing structured products. She subsequently moved to Bankers Trust in the Latin American Emerging markets fixed income trading area, and concentrated in modeling Brady bonds and investing in Latin American local fixed income securities. She then moved to SC Cowen to build their local fixed income business. She lived through the derivatives Orange county crisis, the Mexican crisis, as well as the Russian and Asian debt crises of the 90s.

She is a published author of financial books with J. Wiley: (1) An emerging markets fixed income handbook co-authored with Frank Fabozzi (2002), Investing in Emerging Fixed Income Markets; (2) Local fixed income arbitrage, chapter in the Handbook of Emerging Fixed Income and Currency Markets.

Efi has worked as a European marketer for Dalton Investments, an LA-based hedge fund concentrating in Asian and distressed investment opportunities. Additionally, she taught Derivatives and Real Estate Finance at McGill University.

You can connect with her on:
LinkedIn: https://ch.linkedin.com/in/efipylarinou 

Twitter: @efipm 

Youtube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/c/efipylarinou/;

Facebook business page https://www.facebook.com/efipm/

Course instructors and the program director are available to you at all times via email to answer your questions about course contents and how to organize your study time wisely to get the best out of the study materials. KnowledgeOne also provides technical support via email and phone:

Email: fac@knowledgeone.ca
Tel.: (514) 989-1616

“I loved having the possibility to study whenever and wherever I could; topics were very well explained by the instructor; plus I had the possibility to take the tests many times.”

John H.

“Very easy to use – Very good instructor – Notes easy to use and follow.

Margaret N.

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