This course is a rigorous study of a wide range of topics in the fixed income arena.  It focuses on securities (mainly bonds) that promise an ongoing and consistent cash flow (hence: “fixed income”) and related securities whose valuations are influenced by interest rates.  The course is focused on the concepts and tools that are important to practitioners and investors who want to use these securities, whether for investing, hedging, market making, or speculating.  It includes a study of the markets in which these securities trade. While the cash flows of fixed income securities are contractually specified, the valuation of bonds is particularly challenging given interest rate movements, credit risk, and embedded optionality. Additionally, as part of an examination of structured products, the course will examine real estate finance, particularly the process of creating, valuing, and trading mortgages. Further, the course acknowledges that much of the controversy regarding the 2008 Financial Crisis has been directed at the mortgage market. Given that, the course takes a deep dive into that period and examines the underlying issues regarding that global crisis.