We are leaving the world of options for a bit and entering the world of fixed income. This is the world of bonds, interest rates, and cashflows. Chapter 13 of Wilmott’s book is a self-contained introduction that does not require anything from earlier chapters. If you have ever wondered what a yield curve is or why bond traders care about something called “duration,” this is the post for you.
Chapter 1 of Wilmott’s book starts gently. No scary equations yet. Just the basic building blocks of finance that everything else in the book rests on. If you have worked in finance for a while, you know most of this already. But if you are coming from math or engineering background, this is the foundation you need.
Part 1 covered stocks and the basics of asset classes. Now in the second half of Chapter 12 of Behavioral Finance and Investor Types, Michael Pompian walks through the rest of the investment universe: bonds, hedge funds, real assets, and finally how to put them all together into a portfolio.
Chapter 1 is the foundation. It covers all the products you need to know before the book gets into the actual trading strategies. If you already know bonds, repos, swaps, and options, you can skim. But honestly, a quick review never hurts.