Trends in Fixed Income: Investing in Bonds^*

Tom Lydon

*Chip Norton, who contributed substantially to this, is the managing director of Fixed Income Strategies at the Naples, Florida–based Wasmer, Schroeder & Company. Chip has specialized in the fixed income markets for more than 25 years and is author of Investing for Income (1999, McGraw Hill).

It can be easy to forget about bonds, especially during the good times in the market. Often, this is a segment of the market that investors might tend to dismiss as something for “conservative” investors who are nearing retirement. But recently, the bond market has been getting far more attention as allocations shift from equities and from alternative investments. Indeed, from a risk/return basis, many ...