Bond Market Rules: 50 Investing Axioms to Master Bonds for Income or Trading

Bond Market Rules is a concise, practitioner-focused guide to understanding and navigating fixed income markets through a structured set of fifty investing axioms. Michael D. Sheimo distills decades of bond-market experience into clear, actionable principles that help investors and traders interpret interest rates, yield curves, credit risk, and market behavior with confidence.

Rather than presenting complex mathematical models, the book emphasizes rules of thumb grounded in real market dynamics. Each axiom addresses a recurring truth about bonds—how prices respond to rate changes, how credit spreads behave across cycles, and how income objectives differ fundamentally from trading objectives. This structure allows readers to internalize core concepts quickly while still appreciating the nuances of fixed income instruments.

A key strength of the book is its dual focus on income-oriented investing and active bond trading. Sheimo explains how duration, convexity, and carry influence total return, and why bond portfolios must be managed differently from equity portfolios. Risk management, capital preservation, and realistic expectations are recurring themes throughout the axioms.

Bond Market Rules is not an academic textbook. It is a practical reference designed to sharpen judgment, reduce common mistakes, and provide a durable framework for decision-making in government, corporate, and credit markets.

✅ What You’ll Learn:

• Core principles that govern bond pricing and yield behavior.
• How interest rate changes affect bond returns and portfolio risk.
• The role of duration, convexity, and yield curve shape.
• Differences between bond investing for income and bond trading for return.
• How credit risk and spreads behave across market cycles.
• Common fixed income misconceptions and how to avoid them.
• A rule-based mindset for consistent bond market decision-making.

💡 Key Benefits:

• Clear, memorable axioms that simplify complex bond concepts.
• Practical guidance applicable to real-world fixed income markets.
• Enhances risk awareness and capital preservation discipline.
• Useful for both long-term income investors and active traders.
• Serves as a compact reference for everyday bond market decisions.

👤 Who This Book Is For:

• Investors seeking steady income through bonds.
• Traders looking to understand bond market mechanics.
• Portfolio managers incorporating fixed income exposure.
• Readers who prefer practical rules over abstract theory.

📚 Table of Contents:

• When Interest Rates Rise, Bond Prices Fall
• There Are Four Ways to Get a Higher Yield on Bonds
• Long Maturities Have Greater Market Risk
• Short Maturities Have Greater Reinvestment Risk
• Buy Bonds That Won’t Outlive You
• Invest in Bonds If Your Risk Profile Is Lower
• Invest in Bonds If You Do Not Want Capital Erosion
• Bonds, the Buy-and-Hold Investment
• Bonds Lower Portfolio Risk
• Bond Investing Is Prudent Asset Allocation
• Buy Stocks with Bonds (Convertibles)
• Do Bond Market Analysis
• Know the Bond Rating
• Insured Municipal Bonds Are Safer
• Watch the Long Bond
• You Can’t Trade Bonds Like Stocks
• Beware of Personal Guarantees
• Consider a Managed Futures Account

Bond Market Rules: 50 Investing Axioms to Master Bonds for Income Or Trading By Michael D. Sheimo