Second, fixed-income assets can serve as a supplement to your income. For example, a conservative bond ladder can put consistent and dependable cash in an investor’s pocket regularly over the life of the holdings. In tremulous times like these, structuring your securities like this may be a welcome alternative.

Of course, fixed-income assets do have their limitations. There is generally a much smaller reward with these options than with say, stocks. Younger generations are typically better positioned to take the bigger risks as they have the time and (usually) the financial stability to explore investment options in various markets. That said, historically more secure fixed income products, like the FDIC-insured CDs and agency bonds available at Zions Direct, are typically a wiser option for saving for foreseeable events, such as home buying, weddings and college tuition. These life milestones aren’t exactly the experiences on which we should gamble our money.

Zions Direct, the broker-dealer subsidiary of Zions First National Bank, today announced that it has completed 750 online auctions for a variety of investments, including FDIC-insured certificates of deposit (CDs), corporate and municipal bonds, and preferred stock, since February 2007. Zions Direct’s unique platform allows individual investors to earn the same yield as institutional investors by avoiding the broker mark-up typically associated with retail investments.

With increased transparency luring individual investors, Zions Direct has enjoyed marked growth during the current economic environment. In fact, auction bidding accounts have grown 71 percent over the past 12 months. As a result of this growth, Zions Direct has increased the number of auctions held each week.

For years, Zions Direct has been a leader in offering corporate bonds to retail customers at institutional prices. This week, Zions Direct has expanded that approach with the announcement of their first auction of secondary market corporate bonds. This innovative approach to selling corporate bonds allows retail and institutional investors to set the yield through a competitive bidding process, in contrast to the typical approach in which a broker/dealer sets the offering yield.

It seems that most election years there is a proposal from a state or local government to approve a bond to fund a public project such as a new school, open space, or another investment in the public infrastructure. You know you can vote for some of these debt securities, but did you know they are also available for public purchase? They are municipal bonds (also known as “munis”).

Municipal bonds work like other fixed-income products, such as CDs and corporate bonds. Buyers loan the issuer, in this case a municipality, some amount of money to fund a public project. The bond buyer is paid some percentage (the coupon) of the bond’s face amount while the bond remains outstanding. At the end of the holding period, the face amount is