A Fixed-Income Fix

The Fixed-Income Toolbox is the most recent solution to come out of The MathWorks

The Fixed-Income Toolbox is the most recent solution to come out of The MathWorks, a Natick, Mass.-based software vendor. The product, targeted at financial engineers, offers more than 60 functions for calculating bond prices, yields and spreads, and is built on the Matlab programming environment.

Matlab, which is based on a matrix, is intended to save development time, add speed to programs such as Excel and integrate into other systems, according to a spokesman for The MathWorks.

The Toolbox aims to assist in customizing fixed-income models. In addition, it offers calculations, portfolio hedging and valuation for derivatives including swaps, convertible bonds and treasury futures. Mortgage-backed securities, corporate bonds and treasury bills are included in the Toolbox's instrument coverage.

In addition, data can be exchanged between Matlab and other databases or Excel files, says the spokesman. The solution can also download real-time information from financial-data services such as Bloomberg.

The spokesman notes that the Fixed-Income Toolbox operates in coordination with other toolboxes offered by the vendor. These toolboxes include a basic financial toolbox, as well as vertical toolboxes for such applications as statistics or optimization.

The Toolbox is currently available on PC, Unix, Linux and Mac platforms and starts at $1,000.