Subject: Bond Investing, a Brief Intro
Bond Investing --like fly-fishing or like boat-building, to name two of my other hobbies-- can be done a lot of different ways, for a lot of different reasons, so much so, there can be no single "right" way to do any of them. But some generalities can be offered and simplifications made.

As a would-be *bond* investor --a term that can include all securities that have a "fixed income" component, such as preferreds, MLPs, REITs, etc.-- one of two bets is being made. Either you're betting on the level/direction of interest rates, or you're betting on the level/direction of an issuer's credit-worthiness. For sure, especially with mid-tier corporate debt, both factors can come into play. But would-be bond investors generally sort themselves into those who focus on high quality debt and the income it might offer, and those who embrace the risks and rewards of what is rated as spec-grade debt (and derisively called 'junk bonds').

Those in the first group are practicing what Ben Graham would call "Defensive Investing". The latter group is practicing what he would call "Enterprising Investing". For good reasons, he argues the two styles shouldn't be mixed. "Pick one, or the other", he suggests, "and stick with it". But there are some subversives and iconoclasts who do successfully mix the two and who describe what they do as "spectrum-income" investing, which is a category that Morningstar recognizes and tracks.

Me? I'm a spectrum-income guy who buys across the yield-curve and up and down the credit-spectrum. That means I'm buying CDs, Treasuries, Agencies, Minis, Corporates, Foreign Sovereigns, Preferreds, Converts, MLPs, Reits, High Div ETFs, etc., and what matters to me is 'Total Return', whatever its source, but with a preference for predictability.

Regrettably, TMF trashed the 20 plus years of posts that were done on the old bond board, much of what would still be timely, because the discussion was broad or the specifics of a post would serve as a case study that would have present-day, present-market relevance. The lost posts are water under the bridge. But I'm going to try to recreate some of them, because I like bond investing and because such a review might help me chart a path in our present horrible economic situation.

Meanwhile, if bonds aren't something whose lingo and basic math you feel comfortable with, pick up a used copy of Sharon Saltsgiver Wright's book, Getting Started in Bonds (either edition), and work your way through it, pencil in hand and calculator at your side. Then go paper-shopping for bonds and try to apply the concepts and strategies she suggests.

If you've got an account with Schwab, you have access to the best scanner for preferreds. If an account with E*Trade, you've got access to the best, most easy to use bond scanner for agencies, munis, or corps. If an account with Fidelity, you've got access to the best commission schedule for bonds. If an account at IB, then direct access to NBBO at the same buck a bond at Fido, but with an easier means to sell. If an account at TD, then you've got access to the best platform for trading equity-like instruments. Etc. Etc. All brokers offer advantages and disadvantages. Pick the ones that best serve your needs.

Lastly, you need to poke around FINRA's website and to learn how to pull historical info and charts for bonds. OK. That's enough for today. I've got leaves to rake and miles to roll on my recumbent before the rains return.

CharlieBonds