Summary

Bond Investing For Dummies, 2nd Edition updates the expert information and advice presented in the first edition for today's bond markets. It includes updated information on: The stock-market turmoil of 2008 and of the past several months, which have served to reinforce the importance of bonds in a portfolio. A radical fall in interest rates, to the lowest in decades-making bond investing trickier than ever. A run on municipals, due to widespread fears that America's cities would break from the recession. (Municipals have since come back.) The historic downgrade of U.S. Treasuries, which so far has not lead to any kind of run on government bonds, but certainly warrants great concern.

Author Biography

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

Supplemental Materials

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