When you buy a bond, you are actually loaning your money to the organization that issued the bond. That is why bonds are often called "debt instruments." The principal (the "face value" of the bond) is repaid on the maturity date. In the meantime, you are paid a set amount of interest, usually every six months. This interest is called the "coupon" or "coupon rate." It's called that because bonds used to come with little coupons attached that you would cut off and send in twice a year to receive the interest payment. Nowadays, the coupon rate is nothing more than the annual interest rate.
When deciding which types of bonds to invest in, it's important to know all you can about each. Among the types of bonds you can choose from are:
Treasury Bonds
Treasury bonds, also known as "T-bonds" for short, are issued by the United States government and are considered to be the safest of the three bonds. The only risk is if they are sold prior to maturity (but this holds true for all bonds). Super-safety comes at a cost, though, and in the case of treasury bonds that means lower returns than other bonds.
Interest is paid on treasury bonds twice a year, and can be purchased in maturities ranging up to 30 years. All T-bonds bonds are issued in face values of $1,000 with different purchase minimums with each type of security. It is impossible to redeem a treasury bond before maturity, and interest payments stop as soon as the bonds mature.
Corporate
Corporate bonds are issued by companies in order to raise capital. While they can be very safe investments when issued by strong, established companies, the reverse is true for companies that are not rock solid. Unlike treasury bonds, corporate bonds have what is known as a "call provision", which allows the bond holder to get their principle investment back before maturity.
Most corporate bonds have fixed interest rates, and some, called "zero coupons" are sold at a significant discount in exchange for the bondholder agreeing to wait until maturity to receive interest payments.
Because determining which companies are strong and which aren't can be very tricky, there are companies who evaluate the fiscal integrity of various corporations to determine their bond-worthiness. Moody's Investors Services and Standard and Poor are two examples of such rating companies.
Municipal
Municipal bonds are issued by state, county, or city governments for the purpose of financing government sponsored functions (I.E., building a highway or a school), or for other "non governmental" purposes, such as raising money for low income housing or student loans.
Municipal bonds, like T-bonds, pay interest twice a year. These investments can be very safe, but do carry risks as well. Moody's and Standard & Poor rate municipal bonds based on their credit quality, so when investing in them, it's a very good idea to use these ratings as a guideline.
Municipal bonds are subject to significant market risk if sold before maturity.
Maintaining a Diversified Portfolio
Many personal financial advisors recommend that investors maintain a diversified investment portfolio consisting of bonds, stocks and cash in varying percentages, depending upon individual circumstances and objectives. Because bonds typically have a predictable stream of payments and repayment of principal, many people invest in them to preserve and increase their capital or to receive dependable interest income. Whatever the purpose-saving for your children's college education or a new home, increasing retirement income or any of a number of other financial goals-investing in bonds can help you achieve your objectives.
Assessing Risk
All investments offer a balance between risk and potential return. The risk is the chance that you will lose some or all the money you invest. The return is the money you stand to make on the investment.
The balance between risk and return varies by the type of investment, the entity that issues it, the state of the economy and the cycle of the securities markets. As a general rule, to earn the higher returns, you have to take greater risk. Conversely, the least risky investments also have the lowest returns.
The bond market is no exception to this rule. Bonds in general are considered less risky than stocks for several reasons:
o Bonds carry the promise of their issuer to return the face value of the security to the holder at maturity; stocks have no such promise from their issuer.
o Most bonds pay investors a fixed rate of interest income that is also backed by a promise from the issuer. Stocks sometimes pay dividends, but their issuer has no obligation to make these payments to shareholders.
o Historically the bond market has been less vulnerable to price swings or volatility than the stock market.
The average returns from bond investments have also been historically lower, if more stable, than average stock market returns.
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