Credit Fixed Income

Credit Fixed Income course overview

In this Credit Fixed Income course, we will introduce key concepts for credit analysts, investors, and traders. We will explore what is credit fixed income and the nuances of corporate bonds, as well as examine many of the measures of the additional yield that credit products provide. Building upon that foundation, we will look at trading corporate bonds, as well as explain asset swaps, credit default swaps, credit derivatives, credit-linked notes, and first-to-default baskets.

By the end of this course, you will have a much deeper understanding of the skills and knowledge that both buy-side and sell-side analysts need to be successful in credit markets.

Credit Fixed Income learning objectives

Upon completing this course, you will be able to:

• Describe key characteristics of corporate bonds, from liquidity preference and coupon type, to offering formats, and provisions

• Appreciate the corporate bond issuer landscape from a trader/investor’s perspective, being able to speak to the various industry categories and provide examples of significant market players

• Discuss the key quantitative measures (i.e. types of spreads) used in reference to bonds by industry professionals

• Understand the mechanics of credit spreads and their relationships to each other

• Identify specific credit products that can provide investors additional yield and explain why these products can provide incremental returns in relation to others (‘relative value’)

Credit Fixed Income is an elective course of CFI’s CMSA® program

CFI’s Capital Markets & Securities Analyst (CMSA)® program covers all the basic, intermediate, and advanced topics about sales and trading, investment banking, and asset management. This program teaches you trading strategies used in the finance and capital markets industry. It is ideal for students who want to learn how to trade different asset classes. The program is completely online so you can take it at your own pace, from anywhere in the world.

Common career paths for students who take the CMSA® are Sales & Trading, Asset Management, Wealth Management, Treasury, Risk Management, and other capital markets careers.

Who should take this CMSA® course?

This Credit Fixed Income course is perfect for anyone who would like to develop a deeper understanding of spread products in Fixed Income. For the individual wanting to gain more breadth in corporate bonds and credit derivative product knowledge, this course explores a diverse range of topics on spread products from bonds to credit derivatives. 

This course is designed to equip anyone who desires to begin a career in the capital markets on a fixed income desk, or to help prepare for career advancement from junior to more senior fixed income trading or sales positions.