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(Please note that your current Insurance Policy overrides these
definitions and terms) |
- Accreted Value
The Price of the Zero Coupon Bond on the Call Date as calculated
using the original interest rate to maturity as the Yield, the Call
Date as the Settlement Date, and the Maturity of the Bond.
- Accrued Interest
The amount of accrued interest to be paid the seller of a bond on a
sale completed between interest payment dates. This result is per
$1,000 par amount of bonds.
- Advance Refunding
A financing transaction under which new bonds are issued to repay an
outstanding bond issue prior to its first call date. Money raised
from the new issue is usually placed in an escrow account and
invested in government securities. The interest and principal
repayments of these escrowed securities are used to pay the old
bonds until they are able to be called.
- AMT Bonds
The interest from certain tax-free municipal bonds is required to be
included in the calculation of alternative minimum tax. These bonds
are generally dubbed AMT bonds
- Ask Price
The price at which an owner will sell a security.
Asset-backed Security
Structured financial
products backed by assets such as student-loan, credit-card, and
auto-loan receivables.
- Auction Market
A market for securities in which trading in a particular security is
conducted with all qualified persons able to verbally bid or offer
securities against orders. U.S. Treasury Securities are offered via
auction.
- Average Life
-
A measure of how
long it takes, on average, for the security to repay its principal.
- BAN
See Municipal
Notes
- Bankers Acceptance
BAs
are negotiable time drafts drawn on banks, discounted, and redeemed by
that bank at maturity for full face value.
Domestic BAs are created by U.S. banks on behalf of companies
engaged in the importing, exporting, trading or storage of goods.
Yankee BAs are created by U.S. branches of foreign` banks on
behalf of companies also engaged in the export-import business.
-
- Barbell Portfolio
See Laddered Portfolio for a related topic). A common strategy for
investing in bonds is to invest in bonds of differing maturities to
hedge against fluctuations in interest rates. An investor with
$160,000 to invest might structure a barbell portfolio, whereby
$40,000 matures in one year, $10,000 matures in each of the next
four years, and $40,000 matures in year ten. As the bonds come due
at the end of year one, you might reinvest $30,000 to mature in one
year (totaling $40,000), and the remaining $10,000 to mature in year
nine (totaling $50,000). You reduce the impact of changing interest
rates on the value of your portfolio.
- Basis Point
One one-hundredth of one percent (1/100 or .01). Yield differences
between fixed income securities are stated in basis points (e.g. The
difference between a bond yielding 4.85% and one yielding 4.96% is
11 basis points).
- Bearer Bond
A bond that has no identification of an owner. It is owned by the
bearer, or the person that holds it.
- Bid Price
The price at which the buyer will purchase a security.
- Bond
Debt
security that obligates the issuer to pay the holder interest during
the term of the bond, with some exceptions, and the principal at or
before maturity.
- Bond Heaven
When bonds are sold to a portfolio to be held as an investment, as
opposed to selling them to another securities dealer who can then
re-offer them to other investors.
- Bond Insurance (see Insured
Bonds)
- Brady Bond
These are bonds issued by third world nations such as Mexico,
Brazil, and Argentina when they restructured their debt under a plan
developed by former U.S. Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady. The
principal of the bonds as well as 12 to 18 months of interest
payments are backed by U.S. Treasury securities.
- Callable Bond
Bonds which are redeemable by the issuer prior to the stated
maturity date. A date and price are specified.
- Call Date
The date on which a bond issuer has the right to redeem bonds prior
to the specified maturity date.
- Call Feature
Terms of a bond contract stating when the issuer of a bond has the
right to prepay, or call, all or a portion of the principal prior to
the stated maturity date. A price, usually expressed as a
percentage, is stated. (See Call Premium).
- Call Premium
A dollar amount, usually specified as a percentage of the principal
amount being redeemed, paid as a "penalty" or a
"premium" for the right to redeem early.
- Call Price (see Call Premium)
Capital Markets
The markets where capital funds - debt, or bonds, and equity, or
stocks - are bought and sold.
- Certificate of Deposit (CD)
A certificate issued for a deposit made at a banking institution.
The bank agrees to pay a fixed interest rate for the specified
period of time, and repays the principal at the maturity. CDs can be
purchased directly from the banking institution or through a
securities broker.
- Certificates of Participation
A
security representing an undivided interest in a pool of
conventional mortgages (in the case of mortgage backed debt) or
municipal lease payments (in the case of municipal certificates of
participation. Principal and interest payments are passed through to
the certificate holders each month.
Municipal COPs often have contingencies that must be met,
such as requirements that the borrower must annually appropriate
funds for principal and interest payments.
- Collateralized Bond
Bonds backed by the assets that the issuer puts up as collateral for
the issue, such as real estate holdings or equipment. Usually refers
to a type of corporate bond.
- Collateralized Mortgage Obligation (CMO)
A type of mortgage-backed security that is backed by mortgage pools
and that is documented and sold as a collection of separate bonds,
which are called tranches. CMOs may reduce the uncertainties
caused by mortgage prepayments by separating cash flows into a
variety of tranches. Each tranche can have different prices,
yields, expected maturities, expected prepayment speeds, and so on.
- Commercial Paper
Short term, unsecured promissory
notes issued by corporations and due in 270 days or less.
Commercial paper proceeds must be used to finance current
transactions such as operating expenses, receivables and
inventories.
- Compound Accreted Value
The value of a zero coupon bond at any given time, based on the
principal, with interest compounded at a stated rate of return.
- Constant Maturity
Yields on Treasury securities at "constant maturity" are
interpolated by the U.S. Treasury from the daily yield curve. This
curve, which relates the yield on a security to its time to
maturity, is based on the closing market bid yields on actively
traded Treasury securities in the over-the-counter market. These
market yields are calculated from composites of quotations reported
by five leading U.S. Government securities dealers to the Federal
Reserve Bank of New York. The constant maturity yield values are
read from the yield curve at fixed maturities, currently 3 and 6
months and 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 20, and 30 years. This method provides
a yield for a 10-year maturity, for example, even if no outstanding
security has exactly 10 years remaining to maturity. In estimating
the 20-year constant maturity, the Treasury incorporates the
prevailing market yield on an outstanding Treasury bond with
approximately 20 years remaining to maturity.
- Convertible Bond
A corporate bond, usually junior or subordinated debenture, that can
be exchanged for shares of the issuer's common stock at a specified
exchange ratio and price.
- Convexity
The second derivative of a bond's price with respect to its yield,
divided by its price. This number, when used with modified duration,
provides a more accurate approximation of the percentage price
change resulting from a specified change in a bond's yield than does
modified duration alone. Convexity is the price measure of how much
a bond's price/yield curve deviates from a straight line (measure of
the degree of curvature of the price/yield relationship). Generally,
bonds with a positive convexity are noncallable. In a falling
interest rate environment, their price will rise more than it would
fall. Examples of bonds with a negative convexity are mortgage
backed and callable bonds.
- Corporate Bonds
Debt obligations issued by private or public companies to raise
funds for a variety of corporate purposes such as building a new
facility, purchasing equipment, or expanding the business.
- Coupon
Usually refers to a security's stated interest rate. Coupons are
generally paid semiannually.
- Covenants
Provisions in a debt agreement or
indenture stating the rights and duties of the issuer.
Affirmative covenants requires the issuer to perform certain acts such
as to maintain coverage of fixed charges at or above certain levels.
Negative covenants require the issuer to refrain from certain acts
such as increasing debt above certain levels.
- CPI-U
The unseasonably adjusted U.S. City Average All Items Consumer Price
Index for All Urban Consumers, published by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics. This is used to determine the index ration for U.S.
Treasury Inflation Indexed Securities.
- Credit Rating (see Rating)
- Current Income
Money paid during the period that an investment is held: bonds pay
interest, and stocks pay dividends.
- Current Yield
The rate of actual cash flow as percent of the purchase price. It is
calculated by dividing the annual interest received on the bond by
the purchase price. e.g.. a bond with a coupon of 4.5% purchased at
96.625% of par has a Current Yield of 4.66% (45 / 966.25).
- Cushion Bond
A bond that is not as sensitive to interest rate fluctuations
because of its early call option, usually 1-2 years. Its price is
artificially suppressed because of the early call, and will not
change up or down as other similar bonds with longer call dates..
- CUSIP
A nine digit identifier number for a security that is used to
maintain a uniform method of identifying municipal, corporate, and
U.S. Government securities.
- Dated
Date (or Issue Date)
The date of a bond issue from which interest starts accruing. The
bondholder is entitled to receive interest from the issuer starting
from this date even though the bonds may actually be delivered on a
later date.
- Debenture
Bond
Corporate bonds that are backed by the overall financial condition
and pledge of a company issuing the bond. Since there is no
collateral, these bonds generally carry a higher risk, and therefore
a higher rate of return, when compared to a collateralized bond.
- Defeasance
A technique or procedure whereby an issuer of debt discharges its
debt prior to maturity. A trust is established and funded with
risk-free monetary assets and with a cash flow matching that of the
defeased obligation.
- Denomination
The face amount of a security. Bonds are usually issued in
denominations of $1,000 or $5,000, or multiples thereof.
- Default
Failure to pay principal or interest promptly when due.
- Discount
The difference between a bond's current market price and its face,
or redemption, value.
- Discount Rate
The rate of interest charged by the Federal Reserve Banks on money
borrowed from it by its member banks.
- Diversification
The practice of including in a portfolio different types of assets
in order to minimize risk or to improve overall portfolio
performance. An example is to include bonds of different issuers,
differing maturities, and differing credit qualities in one
portfolio.
- Double-Barreled
Bond
A municipal bond that is secured by a combination of a general
obligation tax pledge and specified revenues.
- Double
Exemption
Securities, usually tax-free municipal bonds, that are exempt from
state income tax as well as federal income taxation. Many states
exempt interest earned on bonds issued by political subdivisions
within their state from state income taxes.
- Duration
Duration A mathematical measure (Macaulay method) of how quickly an
investor recovers his or her investment. Bonds of similar duration
will have the similar price movements for a given move in interest
rates. The resulting figure is a measure of the volatility risk
associated with owning the bond. If a bond's duration is 4.5 years,
the price of the bond will fall 4.5% for a 1% rise in interest
rates. Effective Duration takes into account any calls, puts, or
other options of the security. Modified Duration does not take these
into account.
- Dutch Auction
A system in which a seller gradually lowers his price until a bid is
met by the purchaser. Treasury bills are sold in this manner.
Effective Duration (See Duration)
- Escrowed
Bonds
Bonds which are paid from monies and securities that are placed in
an escrow account and held and paid by a trustee, rather than by an
issuer. (See Advance Refunding, Defeasance, Prerefunded).
Eurobond
Bond denominated in
U.S. dollars or other currencies and sold in countries other than the
one in whose currency the issue is denominated. The Eurobond
market is an important source of capital for multinational
corporations and foreign governments, including Third World
governments.
- Federal
National Mortgage Association (FNMA)
Also known as "Fannie Mae". A U.S. government sponsored
private corporation authorized to purchase and sell home
mortgages. FNMA facilitates the orderly operation of the secondary
market for these mortgages.
-
- Federal
Home Loan Mortgage Corp (FHLMC)
Also known as "Freddie Mac". A federally created
corporation that facilitates the financing of single-family
residential housing by creating and maintaining an active market
for conventional home mortgages.
Funnel Bond
A type of sinking-fund
bond in which the issuer can redeem a specified amount of its
total debt outstanding.
(In other words, a funnel redemption is not restricted to a single
issue.) If a funneling option is available, the highest coupon bonds
are normally targeted first for redemption.
- General
Obligation (GO) Bonds
Municipal bonds backed by the full faith and credit (taxing and
borrowing power) of the municipality issuing the bonds.
- Government
National Mortgage Association (GNMA)
(Also referred to as "Ginnie Mae"). An agency of the
federal Department of Housing and Urban Development empowered to
provide assistance in financing home mortgages. GNMA is
responsible for management and liquidation of federally owned
mortgage portfolios, and issues bonds that are secured by single
family mortgages, and guaranteed by the full faith and credit of
the U.S. Government.
- Hedge
To offset investment risk in a particular security by another
investment or transaction in another market. A long position in a
bond may be hedged with a put on those bonds.
Indenture
A
legal document that specifically states the conditions under which a
bond has been issued, the rights of the bondholders, and the duties
of the issuing corporation.
- Index Ratio
For U.S. Treasury Inflation Indexed Securities, the reference
CPI-U applicable to the current date, divided by the Reference
CPI-U for the original issue date.
- Index
Ratio
Offered by the U.S. Treasury, these bonds are direct obligations
of the United States Government. The principal and interest are
protected against inflation by indexing to the Consumer Price
Index. Since the principal grows with inflation, the investor is
guaranteed that the real purchasing power will keep pace with the
rate of inflation, based on the Reference CPI-U. Interest is also
protected from inflation because the investor receives interest
payments based on a fixed semiannual interest rate applied to the
inflation-adjusted principal amount.
- Institutional
Investor
An organization investing in securities for the benefit of others.
Insurance companies, pension funds, investment managers and mutual
funds are institutional investors.
- Insured
Bonds
Many municipal bonds are backed by municipal bond insurance that is
specifically designed to reduce investment risk. In the event of a
Default, the insurance company guarantees payment of principal and
interest to the investors for as long as the Default lasts. Most
insured bonds carry the highest quality credit rating -AAA.
- Interest
Compensation paid to a lender (investor) by the borrower (issuer of
bonds) for the use of money. Usually expressed as an annual
percentage rate, and most often paid semiannually, or twice a year.
- Investment
Grade
Bonds graded Baa and higher by Moody's Investors Service and Fitch
Investors Service, or BBB and higher by Standard and Poor's are
considered to have only minor speculative characteristics. These are
considered to have a high probability of being paid and are
considered "investment grade."
- Issue Date (see Dated Date)
The date of a bond issue from which interest starts accruing. The
bondholder is entitled to receive interest from the issuer starting
from this date even though the bonds may actually be delivered on a
later date.
- Issuer
The entity that borrows money through the issuance of bonds. This
can be a state, political subdivision, agency or authority in the
case of municipal bonds, a corporation for corporate and Agency
bonds, and the U.S. Government for Treasury Bonds.
- Junk Bond
A bond rated lower than Baa/BBB. Also called a high yield bond.
Bonds with credit ratings below Baa/BBB are considered speculative
compared with investment grade bonds. (See Investment
Grade).
- (empty)
- Laddered
Portfolio
A common strategy for investing in bonds is to build a varied
portfolio with different maturities, usually staggered evenly
over time to provide regular cash flow. For example, you might
invest $100,000 in equal amounts of $10,000 that mature in each
of ten years. As your principal comes due, you reinvest the
amount to mature in ten years. Because funds become available
for reinvestment each year, this smoothes out the effects of
interest rate fluctuations: if interest rates rise, you invest
your principal at higher rates; if rates fall you still have
most of your portfolio invested in longer term, higher rate
bonds.
-
Legal
Opinion
An opinion by legal counsel concerning the validity of a
securities issue with respect to conformity to statutory
authority, and constitutionality, and usually as to the exemption
of interest from federal income taxation.
LIBOR
"London
Interbank Offered Rate." According to the Wall
Street Journal , the LIBOR is "the average of interbank
offered rates for dollar deposits in the London market based on
quotations at five major banks." The rate is published daily in
the Wall Street Journal "Money
Rates" section.
- Limited
Tax Bond
A bond that has pledged to the repayment of principal and
interest, certain taxes or categories of taxes that have a limit
on the rate or amount.
- Liquidity
The measure of the ease or difficulty with which securities can be
bought and sold in the markets. Bonds that have many buyers and
sellers, or "market - makers" and a readily available
price are considered highly liquid.
- Long Bond
The 30 year US Treasury Bond is the longest bond issued by the
government. It is also the most widely traded bond in the world.
It is viewed as a benchmark in the industry and is commonly called
the "long bond."
- Macauley Duration (see Duration)
A mathematical measure (Macaulay method) of how quickly an investor
recovers his or her investment. Bonds of similar duration will have
the similar price movements for a given move in interest rates.
- Maturity
(or Maturity Date)
The date when the principal amount of a security becomes due and
payable. An issue can have multiple maturities.
- Marketability
A measure of the ease or difficulty with which a security can be
resold in the market.
Modified Duration (See Duration)
- Money
Market Funds
Where borrowing and lending for periods of less than one year takes
place. Securities and other instruments traded in the money markets
include federal funds; certificates of deposit; repurchase
agreements; Treasury bills; commercial paper; and bankers
acceptances.
- Moral
Obligation Bond
A revenue bond that, in addition to repayment from its primary
source of security, carries an implied, but not legal, obligation
for a state to make up shortfalls in a debt service reserve fund.
Market participants recognize that failure to make good on this
pledge will damage the state's own creditworthiness.
- Mortgage-Backed
Bonds
Bonds secured by pools of mortgages.
- Municipal
Bond
A general term referring to securities issued by states and local
government agencies such as cities, towns, counties, and special
districts. A primary feature of these securities is that interest on
them is generally exempt form federal income taxation and, in some
cases, state income taxation. Because of this feature, the interest
rates on municipal bonds are lower than interest rates on other
types of bonds, but when taking into account one's income taxes,
often provide a comparable, or better, rate of return.
- Municipal
Lease
An obligation by a municipal agency to lease equipment or property.
The lease payments usually include a component for repayment of
principal and an component for interest. The interest component is
usually tax-free (exempt from federal, and sometimes state, income
taxation). (See Lease/Purchase).
- Municipal
Notes
Short term obligations, including tax/revenue/bond anticipation
notes (TANS/RANS/BANS) of a municipal agency that are sold in
anticipation of tax receipts, an upcoming bond issue, or other
revenues.
- Municipal
Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB)
The self-regulatory body of the municipal securities markets.
- Mutual Fund
A pool of investment capital from people who share the same
investment goals. Mutual funds made up of bonds do not have a fixed
maturity date. The manager of a bond fund continuously buys and
sells securities in an effort to maintain the best overall returns
for the investors.
- New
Issue Market (Primary Market)
A bond offering sold for the first time, also called the primary
offering.
-
- Non-callable Bond
A bond that does not have an option to be redeemed prior to its
stated maturity.
- Notes
A security similar to a bond but with a shorter term, usually five
years securities. Municipal notes often are secured by specific
sources of future revenues such as tax receipts or bond proceeds.
- Offering Date
The date on which a new offering of stocks or bonds will be
available to the public.
-
- Offering
Price
The price, and corresponding yield in the case of bonds, at which
an underwriter of securities offers them to investors.
-
- Official
Statement
Document prepared by an issuer of municipal securities that gives
details of the security and financial information for an issue.
Much like a prospectus for stocks.
On-The-Run Treasuries
Also "OTR."
The most recently issued 3-month, 6-month, 1-year, 2-year, 3-year,
5-year, 7-year, 10-year, and 30-year Treasury securities.
Note that the 7-year Treasury is the most current
three-year-old 10-year Treasury (the U.S. government no longer sells
7-year bonds). A yield
curve of on-the-run treasuries is created from the yields to
maturity of the most recently issued 3-month, 6-month, 1, 2, 3, 5,
7, 10, and 30-year Treasuries. The curve is updated nightly using
the prior trading day's bid-side valuations for the on-the-run
Treasuries.
- Original
Issue Discount
A bond offered at a dollar price less than par (100%) which
qualifies for special treatment under federal tax law. For
tax-exempt municipal bonds, the difference between the issue price
and par is treated as tax-exempt income rather than as a capital
gain, if the bonds are held to maturity.
PAC
"Planned
Amortization Class." A CMO tranche
with a planned amortization schedule similar to that of a sinking
fund. Principal
payments of a CMO are first made to the PAC bonds, as per the
schedule, then to other tranches. The weighted
average life of the PAC remains constant within a wide band
of prepayment speeds for the collateral.
Also called "Planned Redemption Obligation" (PRO)
and "Scheduled Redemption Obligation" (SRO).
-
- Par Value
The principal amount of a bond or note that is payable at
maturity. The par value is the amount on which interest payments
are calculated.
-
- Pass-through
Securities representing interests in pools of assets such as
mortgages and automobile receivables. The interest and the
principal payments on the underlying collateral are "passed
through" to the security holders.
-
- Paying
Agent
The place or company where the Principal and Interest are payable
- usually a bank or designated office of the Issuer.
-
- Preliminary
Official Statement
The document prepared by or for a municipal securities issuer that
gives in detail the security and financial information about the
issue. The Preliminary Official Statement includes all relevant
material except the interest rates and prices for the securities,
and is made available to prospective investors prior to the
setting of the rates and prices.
-
- Prepayment
The unscheduled payment of principal on a debt before it is due.
-
- Premium
The amount by which a bond sells above its par (face) value.
- Price
Bonds are quoted either in terms of a percentage of par value (98
bid/99 offered) or in terms of yield to maturity (7.25% bid/7.50%
offered).
-
- Price to
Call
Price to Call is the price of the bond, expressed as a percent, to
the Call Date, at the Call Price.
-
- Primary Market (see New
Issue Market)
The market on which newly issued securities are sold. This includes
the auction market for government bonds and the underwriting period
for bonds which an underwriter purchases for resale to investors.
-
- Principal
The face amount or par value of a bond. The principal amount of a
trade is the par value of one bond times the number of bonds
involved in the trade.
-
Putable Security
Security that
allows its holder to redeem it, before maturity, at specified
intervals at a specified price (usually par).
- (empty)
- RAN
See Municipal Notes
-
- Rating
Designations given by investors' services to indicate the relative
credit quality, or the strength of the ability to pay.
-
- Redemption
The paying off or buying back of a bond by the issuer.
-
- Refunding
Bond
The replacement of a bond issue with a new bond issue. Usually a
new bond issue will refund an outstanding issue to achieve
conditions more favorable to the borrower (issuer), such as
reduced interest rates or more favorable borrowing conditions.
-
- REMIC
Real estate mortgage investment conduits. Similar to a CMO, REMICs
qualify for more favorable tax and accounting treatment for the
issuer.
-
- Registered
Bond
A form of ownership of a bond whereby the name of the owner as to
principal and interest is recorded on the bond certificates and on
the books of the corporation or its agent. A registered bond can
be transferred only by endorsement of the registered owner or its
agent.
-
- Repurchase
Agreement
Also called repos, or RPs, these are agreements between a buyer
and seller of securities whereby the seller agrees to repurchase
the securities at a stated price and stated time.
-
- Retail
Investor
The term given by the securities industry to individual investors,
and sometimes smaller companies, that invest in bonds.
-
- Return on Investment (See Total
Return)
- Revenue Bond
A municipal bond that is secured and repaid only from a specified
stream of non-tax revenues. Examples of revenues include tolls,
utility charges, charges and use fees from a facility being
constructed with the proceeds of a bond issue, such as a sports
facility.
- Secondary
Market
The market for securities that have previously offered or sold
-
- Settlement
Date
The Settlement Date is the date on which the transaction settles.
-
- Sinking
Fund Bond
Issuers of bonds are sometimes required to deposit money into a
"sinking fund" with a trustee to be used to redeem a
bond prior to its stated maturity date, or to repay principal at
maturity. Usually applies to corporate bonds.
-
- Special
Obligation Bonds
A bond secured by a special tax or other source of revenue, such
as a gasoline tax.
Spread
The difference
between two yields, usually stated in terms of the number of basis
points. Also the
difference between the bid and the asked sides of a quote.
- STRIPS
Acronym for the U.S. Treasury zero coupon program standing for
Separate Trading of Registered Interest and Principal of
Securities. These securities are sold at a discount and redeem for
their full face value at maturity. They are offered in amounts of
$1,000 or more, and pay no interest (the interest is reinvested
over the life of the security. STRIPS and zeroes are well suited
to such long-term goals as college planning and retirement
savings.
- Swap
The sale of a bond or block of bonds and the purchase of another
of similar or nearly similar market value. Swaps are done to
achieve many goals, including: establishing a tax loss; upgrading
Credit Quality; extending or shortening the time to Maturity.
- Syndicate
-
A group of
underwriters and distributors of a bond issue.
TAC Bond
"Targeted
Amortization Class" bond. Like a PAC
bond except that the principal-balance schedule uses a
narrower band of collateral prepayments.
-
-
- Tax-Free
Bonds
Also known as municipal bonds. The interest on these bonds is
exempt from federal income taxation.
-
- Taxable
Equivalent Yield
The interest rate which must be received on a taxable security to
provide the holder with the same after-tax return as that earned
on a tax-exempt (municipal) security.
-
- Taxable
Bond Fund
Mutual funds that invest primarily in corporate bonds to provide a
high level of current income.
-
- Term Bond
A bond issued with a single maturity. Corporate term bonds
typically have no provision for a periodic redemption of
principal; in other words, the entire amount falls due at the same
time. Municipal Term Bonds usually include a sinking fund for the
periodic redemption of a portion of the term bond.
-
- Total
Return
Return on investment, taking into account capital appreciation,
dividends or interest, and individual tax considerations. The total
return is usually adjusted for present value and expressed on an
annual basis.
-
- Trade Date
The date on which a bond transaction takes place. This is often
earlier than the Settlement Date.
-
- TRAN
See Municipal
Notes
Tranche
Also
"class." Part of a CMO
or asset-backed
security. Each tranche has the same documentation as the
deal itself but offers different terms. For example, one tranche might
offer a maturity of five years, a second tranche might offer
floating-rate options, a third might offer compounded interest, and so
on.
From
an Old French word meaning "to cut."
- Treasury
Bills (T Bills)
A U.S. Government security with a maturity of one year or less. T
Bills are purchased at a discount to the full face value and the
investor receives the full value when they mature. The difference,
or "discount" is the interest earned. T Bills are issued
in denominations of $10,000 and $1,000 increments thereafter.
-
- Treasury
Notes
U.S. Government obligations that are available for terms of 1 to
10 years. Interest is paid twice a year, or semiannually, and they
can be purchased in denominations of $1,000 or multiples thereof.
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Treasury
Bonds
Long-term obligations of the U.S.
Treasury that mature from 10 to 30 years. Interest is paid
semiannually and they can be easily purchased in minimum
denominations of $1,000 or multiples thereof.
Trustee
A bank that is designated by an issuer of bonds that acts as the
custodian of funds and official representative of the bondholders.
Trustees are appointed to assure that bondholders have representation
to enforce the contractual obligations of the issuer.
Underwriter
An investment bank or group of banks which agrees to purchase an
entire security issue for a specified price, usually for resale to
others.
Unit
Investment Trust (UIT)
A trust that is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) that purchases and packages a fixed portfolio of bonds. The
"units" representing a fractional, undivided interest in the
trust are then sold to investors, and the investor receives periodic
interest and, upon maturity of the individual bonds, the redemption
value. Unit Investment Trusts are not actively managed, as is a mutual
fund.
Unlimited
Tax Bond
A bond that is secured by a pledge of taxes, usually property taxes,
that are not limited in any way as to the amount that can be collected
to pay principal of and interest on a bond.
Variable
Rate Bond
A long-term bond for which the interest rate is adjusted periodically
according to a pre-determined formula. Variable rate bonds can adjust
the interest rate as often as daily, or as infrequently as annually.
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When Issued
A bond issue that has been offered for sale, but has not yet been
delivered by the issuer, is considered to be trading on a "when
issued" basis. Also known as "when, as, and if,
issued".
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Yankee Bond
A dollar-denominated bond of a foreign issuer registered with the SEC
and sold in the U.S. In everyday practice, non-dollar denominated
bonds of foreign issuers sold in the U.S. are also included in the
Yankee bond category.
Yield
This is the basis on which a bond is priced and sold. It reflects
the value of the bond giving consideration to the length of time to
Maturity, credit quality of the Issuer/guarantor, and general market
conditions.
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Yield to Call
Yield to Call is the yield on the bond to the Call Date, at the Call
Price.
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Yield to
Maturity
A yield concept designed to give an investor the average annual
yield on a security. It is based on the assumption that the security
is held by the investor until final maturity, and that all interest
received can be reinvested at the yield to maturity.
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Zero Coupon
Bond
Zero Coupon Bonds do not pay Interest prior to Maturity. The
investor receives one payment - at Maturity. However, Interest is
accrued and compounded semi-annually at the original interest rate
to Maturity. Zero Coupon Bonds are often callable at their Accreted
Value on a particular Call Date.
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