Introduction to the Fixed Income Markets

A Half-Day Course for Professionals Seeking Clarity in Bond Market Fundamentals

In today’s fast-evolving investment landscape, understanding fixed income is essential, not just for investment professionals, but for anyone working alongside them. This accessible half-day course offers a practical introduction to the global bond markets, designed to demystify the mechanics, terminology, and commercial relevance of fixed income products. 

Through expert-led instruction, real-world illustrations, and interactive discussion, participants will explore:

• Bond Market Fundamentals: Learn how global fixed income markets operate, including the roles of government and corporate issuers, and the key features of bond instruments.
• Coupon Structures and Cash Flows: Understand how bonds generate returns, the types of coupon payments, and how these influence investor decisions.
• Pricing and Valuation Techniques: Discover how bonds are priced, the market conventions for quoting price and yield, and how professionals assess value.
• Credit Spreads and Risk: Decode the concept of spreads, what they signal about creditworthiness, and the main risks associated with bond investing.
• Portfolio Context: Explore how fixed income products fit into broader investment strategies and why they matter across asset classes.

Important Information: This course will be delivered in a hybrid format, but please note that there are limited in-person spaces available, which are offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

If you see the "Join waiting list" button and wish to attend, please contact training@theia.org for assistance with registration.

This half-day course is ideal for professionals looking to build confidence and fluency in the fixed income space. Whether you're supporting investment teams, engaging with clients, or building foundational knowledge, you’ll walk away ready to: 

• Navigate bond market terminology with greater ease
• Understand the mechanics and pricing of fixed income instruments
• Recognise how spreads reflect market sentiment and credit risk
• Identify key risks and how they’re managed in practice
• Engage more effectively with colleagues and clients across the investment ecosystem

Start: 9:30

Fixed income investing – definition and key features: what is a bond?

• Bond market terminology and jargon
• Coupon structures – fixed vs floating
• Government vs. corporate bonds
• Seniority ranking of debt securities when default occurs – who gets paid out first
• Credit spreads – what they are and what they tells us
• The risk of investing in bonds

Credit ratings

• The role and significance of the rating agencies and their rating scales
• The ratings methodology and process
• ‘True’ vs. market-implied spreads – intuitive explanation of discrepancies between ratings and market spreads

Coffee Break: 10:50 - 11:10

Pricing and execution

• Investing in a bond – par, premium and discount pricing concepts
• Clean and dirty prices – accounting for the accrued interest
• Bond quotations – the price, the yields and the different spreads used
• The price/yield relationship
• Overview of

First principles of bond valuation

• Valuing a bond as the equivalent to the sum of all its discounted cash flows

End 12:30

Russell Hammerson

Structured Products Specialist | Capital Markets Educator 

Russell brings over three decades of experience in fixed income trading, financial engineering, and structured product design. His career spans leading roles at Chase Manhattan, Citibank, Bear Stearns, Commerzbank, and Banque Nationale de Paris, where he developed and marketed complex investment solutions for institutional clients. 

Career Highlights 

• Structured fixed income and equity products at Citibank and Bear Stearns
• Head of Structured Products at Commerzbank and Bankgesellschaft Berlin
• Member of the London Management Committee overseeing international new issues
• Technical trainer since 2001, specialising in derivatives and exotic options

Training Expertise 

• Structured products and equity derivatives
• Credit and exotic options
• Fixed income pricing and risk analysis

Russell’s sessions are known for blending deep technical insight with practical clarity, making complex concepts accessible to professionals at all levels. 

View Russell's LinkedIn Profile

This course is designed for professionals across the investment ecosystem who want to strengthen their understanding of fixed income markets: 

• Investment professionals, administrators, and operations teams
• Client services, sales, and marketing staff
• Risk, legal, audit, and compliance professionals
• Finance and accounting teams
• HR, learning and development specialists
• IT and software developers supporting investment platforms

IA Member £395.00 +VAT
Non-Member 545.00 +VAT

Pay using a credit card online, or if you wish to be invoiced please email your full details to: Training@theia.org

PLEASE NOTE: Full payment for the course must be made prior to the course commencement date.

• Any cancellation must be made in writing.
• For all cancellation received 15-30 days prior to the course start date, 50% of the course fee is still payable.
• No refund is given for a cancellation made 14 days or less prior to the commencement of a course.
• Transferring from one course to another is treated as a cancellation.
• You can substitute one delegate for another at no additional cost. In this instance, please give two business days’ notice.