Managing a Family-Fixed Income Portfolio

by Gurwitz, Aaron S.

• ISBN13: 9781883249717
• ISBN10: 1883249716
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-07-15
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

In this exploration of a much-neglected Goldman Sachs Fixed Income Research Strategist Aaron Gurwitz offers a blueprint for mastering fixed income portfolio management for families. The book begins with the basic concepts of bond math, asset allocation, and bond portfolio construction. Discussions of the workings of the global bond market focus on the sectors of most interest to high net worth families, including the U.S. municipal bond market, the eurodollar corporate market, and the global government markets. The final section of the book covers more advanced topics related to the yield curve, interest rate volatility, and fixed-income derivatives. The material will be of interest both to financial professionals who work with wealthy families and to those individual investors who wish to understand this important component of a balanced portfolio.

Author Biography

Aaron S. Gurwitz is Fixed Income Research Strategist for Private Wealth Management at Goldman, Sachs, & Co. In that capacity he advises Goldman’s high net worth clients regarding investment opportunities and risks in bond markets worldwide. Dr. Gurwitz has been at Goldman Sachs for 12 years serving as Senior Economist, Fixed Income Portfolio Strategist for institutional clients, and Manager of the Firm’s Municipal Capital Markets Group. He was twice elected First Team All-American Municipal Portfolio Strategist by Institutional Investor magazine. Before joining Goldman, Dr. Gurwitz held positions as Manager of Domestic Bond Market Research at Salomon Brothers, as Senior Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Rand Corporation, and as Assistant Professor of Economics at Michigan State University. Before attending graduate school, he served for three years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Republic of Korea. Dr. Gurwitz holds a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Binghamton, masters degrees from Adelphi University and Stanford University, and a Ph.D. in economics from Stanford. He is the husband of Dr. Susan Abramowitz and the father of Beatrice and Zev Gurwitz.

Table of Contents

About the Author	iv
Preface	v
Part I
Introduction	3	(4)
Fixed-Income Basics	7	(20)
The Big Picture: Portfolios, Returns, and the Role of Fixed-Income Assets	27	(20)
The Level of Interest Rates and the Shape of the Yield Curve	47	(20)
Interest Rates, Bond Prices, and Portfolio Performance	67	(16)
Currency Exchange Rates and Interest Rates	83	(12)
Choosing the Best Structure for the Family Bond Portfolio	95	(20)
Part II
Sectors of the Bond Market: A Global Perspective	115	(22)
Sectors of the Bond Market: A Domestic U.S. Perspective	137	(24)
Credits and Credit Analysis	161	(18)
Operation of the Public Bond Markets	179	(16)
Taxes and the Fixed-Income Portfolio	195	(12)
Managing a Cash Bond Portfolio	207	(26)
Part III
Leverage and Short Sales in the Fixed-Income Markets	233	(22)
More About the Yield Curve	255	(20)
Fixed-Income Options	275	(28)
Evaluating Bonds with Embedded Options	303	(24)
Fixed-Income Derivatives	327	(18)
Putting it All Together: Building and Managing a Private Fixed-Income Portfolio	345	(17)
Index	362