yeah..tell this to GM or LEH holders..imo in current uncertainty they are no better than the rest... one decent blow can wipe your returns for a few years even if you have VERY diversified portfolio..i'm holding large portfolio of muni etf's. they did damn good this year. 15+% unrealized PnL of ETF's themselves + around 8% tax free dividends. but i'm not slipping any better holding it..
Really? Do you really believe that an average corporate desk can cover the risk in the same bond they've just bought/sold so they don't need to know their duration risk? Also, you do realize that most desks that make markets in corp orates also make markets in the respective CDS?
a) a lot of bond trading is against the banks. ie they sell out of inventory... or go to the market buy it and flip it to you at a spread. Is that the case? b) aside from IB who has a decent interface? is there anything like a think or swim for options?