Bond Investing For Dummies

Russell Wild, MBA, is the author or coauthor of many nonfiction books, including Exchange-Traded Funds For Dummies, Index Investing For Dummies, and One Year to an Organized Financial Life. He is a NAPFA-certified financial advisor, registered with the Pennsylvania Securities Commission.

Introduction 1 Part I: Bond Appetit! 9 Chapter 1: So You Want to Be a Bondholder 11 Chapter 2: Developing Your Investment Game Plan 23 Chapter 3: The (Often, But Not Always) Heroic History of Bonds 35 Chapter 4: Sweet Interest Is the Name of the Game 49 Part II: Numerous and Varied Ways to Make Money in Bonds 71 Chapter 5: Risk-Free Investing: U.S. Treasury Bonds 73 Chapter 6: Industrial Returns: Corporate Bonds 91 Chapter 7: Lots of Protection (and Just a Touch of Confusion): Agency Bonds 105 Chapter 8: (Almost) Tax-Free Havens: Municipal Bonds 117 Chapter 9: Le Bond du Jour: Global Bonds and Other Seemingly Exotic Offerings 131 Part III: Customizing and Optimizing Your Bond Portfolio 149 Chapter 10: Risk, Return, and Realistic Expectations 151 Chapter 11: The Science (and Pseudoscience) of Portfolio-Building 169 Chapter 12: Dividing Up the Pie: What Percentage Should Be in Bonds? 179 Chapter 13: Which Kinds of Bonds Make the Most Sense for You? 197 Part IV: Bonds Away! Navigating the Fixed-Income Marketplace 211 Chapter 14: Strategizing Your Bond Buys and Sells 213 Chapter 15: Investing (Carefully!) in Individual Bonds .229 Chapter 16: Picking a Bond Fund That Will Serve You for Life .245 Part V: Bonds As Replacements for the Old Paycheck... 271 Chapter 17: Fulfi lling the Need for Steady, Ready, Heady Cash 273 Chapter 18: Finding Comfort and Security in Old Age 291 Part VI: The Part of Tens 303 Chapter 19: Ten Most Common Misconceptions about Bonds 305 Chapter 20: Ten Mistakes That Most Bond Investors Make 311 Chapter 21: Ten Q & A s with Bond Guru Dan Fuss 317 Appendix: Helpful Web Resources for Successful Bond Investing 321 Index 325