BOND MARKETS AND FIXED INCOME SECURITIES (slp)

For this module, go surf the web and choose one to three bond funds to buy into with some of your imaginary $95,000.

Read the information in the background material, look for more information if necessary, and then write a two to three page paper with the following information:

What bond fund or funds did you choose, and why? What criteria did you use?

How much did you spend, including transaction fees?

Session Long Project (SLP) Expectations:

In Module 4 SLP, you are expected to:

?Describe the purpose of the paper and conclusion.

?Answer the SLP questions clearly and provide necessary details.

?Provide a quality argument; that is, no poor sentence structure, no spelling and grammar mistakes or run-on sentences.

?Provide citations to support your argument and references on a separate page. Please use APA format to provide citations and references [http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ ; http://www.tuiu.edu/guidelines/Well-Written-Paper.pdf].

?Answer all the SLP questions in an essay format instead of point format. Please do not type questions in the paper.

?Type and double space the paper.

?The following criteria will also be used to assess your paper:

>Focus

>Breadth (comprehensive quality of written paper)

>Depth (deepness of thought)

>Precision (doing what asked to do)

>Clarity (clearness of thought)

?Critical thinking (application of logic and intellectual criteria such as clarity, creditability, accuracy, precision, relevance, depth, breadth, and significance)

SLP Readings:

Ishares.com. (2010). iShare fund finder. Retrieved November, 2010, from http://us.ishares.com/home.htm

Moneycentral.msn.com (2010). Mutual fund quotes. Retrieved November, 2010, from http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/common/find.asp ; http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/common/findsymbol.asp?optType=&Company=bond&nextpage=/investor/options/default.asp

Morningstar.com (2010). Mutual fund screener. Retrieved November, 2010, from http://screen.morningstar.com/FundSelector.html?fsection=ToolSelector

Winninginvesting.com (n.d.). Bond funds: the basics. Retrieved November, 2010, from http://www.winninginvesting.com/bond_fund_basics.htm

Blogspot.com (2010). 5 screening criteria for mutual funds. Retrieved November, 2010, from http://therealreturns.blogspot.com/2005/12/5-screening-criteria-for-mutual-funds.html