Basics of Investing: Bonds

Not only can they provide high, current income potential, but they may also help bring investment diversification,* reducing a portfolio's overall volatility. Here are some of the basics you'll need to know about bonds before you invest.

What are bonds?

A bond is essentially a negotiable IOU, or debt security, issued by governments and government agencies, corporations and municipalities. When you buy a bond, you are essentially lending money (principal) to that entity (issuer) for a certain period of time (term).

In exchange, the issuer promises to repay the principal on the maturity date and in exchange you receive a series of fixed interest payments. Usually the rate cannot change, which is why bonds are called "fixed-income" securities.

A bond is not designed to appreciate in value; however, its market value may rise or fall depending on economic conditions.

The Impact of Interest Rates on Bonds

If you hold a bond until maturity, you will receive its full face value (principal). Until then, the market value of the bond may fluctuate, usually because of the rise and fall of interest rates. The quality rating of the bond and availability in the marketplace play lesser roles in determining its value.

Bonds generally become more valuable when interest rates fall and less valuable when interest rates rise. Here's why:

• If you sell a bond before its maturity date and interest rates have fallen since your initial purchase, investors are interested in buying your bond because it has a higher interest rate than currently available in the marketplace. So the value of your bond has gone up.
  
  
• If you sell a bond before its maturity date and interest rates have risen since your initial purchase, your bond now has a lower interest rate than what is currently available in marketplace. Consequently, other investors know they won't make as much money with your bond, so they are not willing to pay as much for it. Thus, your bond has declined in value.
  
  
  
  

The maturity — the length of time that the issuer has before repaying the principal — also affects the interest rate of the bond. Bond maturities can range from:

• Short-term: Less than one year
• Intermediate-term: Between 1 and 10 years
• Long-term: Greater than 10 years

In general, longer-term bonds offer higher interest rates to compensate investors for the added uncertainty of tying up their money for a long time at a fixed interest rate that may or may not be competitive as time goes by.

Bonds are characterized by type of issuer, as well as credit quality (the assessment of the bond issuer's financial condition) and length of maturity.

• U.S. Government Bonds
  Bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury are considered the safest debt instruments because they are guaranteed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government as to timely payment of principal and interest. They include Treasury bills, notes and bonds (characterized by their length to maturity).

  In addition, federal agencies issue bonds with lesser guarantees, such as mortgage-backed Ginnie or Fannie Maes. Because government bonds are considered safe investments, their yields and total returns tend to be slightly lower than those of other bonds.
  
  

• Corporate Bonds
  Bonds issued by corporations, both U.S. and international, are rated according to the quality of their credit rating. The most highly rated bonds will carry designations between AAA and BBB.

  Bond credit ratings also affect the level of interest they are willing to pay investors. Lower rated bonds, called high-yield bonds, are willing to pay higher interest rates because they carry a higher degree of risk.

  Corporate bonds are subject to both interest rate and credit risk. International corporate bonds carry an added degree of risk because they are affected by currency changes and foreign economic conditions in addition to interest rate and credit risk.
  
  

• Municipal Bonds
  Cities, states and other local government entities issue municipal bonds, which are tax-exempt from federal income taxes and, in many cases, from state income tax. Depending on your income tax bracket, municipal bonds may offer better after-tax comparable yields than government or corporate bonds.

Bonds offer investors many advantages:

• The potential for high, current income
• A way to keep ahead of inflation
• The ability to achieve market-like returns with less volatility than the stock market
• A chance to diversify their investment portfolio

Bonds can be purchased individually or through bond mutual funds. Mutual funds provide the bond investor with many benefits:

• Professional management
  A professional money manager determines which bonds to buy and sell based on extensive research and analysis of economic and market conditions. With their experience, these professionals may provide a level of return that would be hard to match on your own.
• Diversification
  By pooling your money with others, you may be able to achieve a degree of diversification among many types of bonds, maturities and risk levels that would be difficult to achieve on your own. Diversification also helps reduce the risk that one bond's poor performance may have on your investment portfolio.
• Monthly income
  A bond fund typically distributes almost all of its interest income as monthly dividends (individual bonds typically pay interest at six-month intervals). Unlike individual bonds, you can receive these dividends in cash or have them automatically reinvested.
• Liquidity
  You can easily buy and sell shares of mutual funds at any time and receive their current net asset value, which may be more or less than their original cost. Finding someone to buy your individual bond at a fair price may be more difficult.
• Flexibility
  Your bond funds can be easily transferred from one fund to another within the same "fund family" as market conditions or your investment objectives dictate.

*There is no assurance that a diversified portfolio will perform better than an undiversified portfolio, nor does it assure against market loss.

Lincoln Investment Planning, Inc. Can Help

Choosing among the thousands of bonds and bond mutual funds available can be a complicated, time-consuming endeavor. Your Lincoln Investment financial representative can provide valuable assistance in helping you make well-informed investment decisions about the bonds — and bond mutual funds — most appropriate for your situation and needs.