Well-prepared entrepreneurs are walking into the banks with brilliant business ideas with well developed business plans — and are walking out empty-handed.

In addition to raising capital from stock issuance, many companies issue debt securities in the form of bonds to finance their operations.

Raising capital by issuing bonds is a popular alternative to selling shares, as it allows a company to avoid relinquishing ownership of part of the business.

For most investors, the best investment opportunity for them to gain practical experience with the capital markets is fixed income.