The bond market has been a remarkably competitive one lately, which is no surprise given how people often gravitate towards bonds during poor economic times and/or periods of great volatility within the stock market. For most investors, the question of individual bonds vs. bond funds is one which keeps them awake at nights. Which the main bond market is the one where an investor should focus? To assist you with your bond market planning, below are a few things to understand about individual bonds and bond funds:
-Individual bonds supply the investor a dependable supply of income (investors typically receive the interest from these bonds twice per year) along with the security of comprehending that the original investment (i.e. the principal) will soon be returned once the bond matures. bonds to invest in the UK However, individual bonds may be sold by the investor before reaching their maturity date.
-Investors can approach bond funds as they'd the stock market. Bond funds are traditionally purchased by a small grouping of those who pool their investment and then hand it to a broker. While individual bonds supply a twice-yearly payment, bond funds usually offer payment on a monthly basis. However, that payment fluctuates a lot more than someone bond.
While many folks have the misconception that it is easier to diversify with bond funds, in today's interest rate and bond market environment, it is obviously safer for an investor to get a few individual bonds and get less diversification than putting any sum of money into a relationship fund. The bonds in funds are always changing to help keep the fund at a particular time frame so the investor hardly ever really knows what bonds their capital is invested in. With an individual bond, the investor knows exactly what's paying the principal and interest on each of their bonds. A 10 year bond fund has to help keep that point frame so in 5 years an investor will still own a 10 year fund with different underlying securities than when he or she first bought it. When an investor buys a 10 year individual bond, in 5 years that same bond will be a 5 year bond that will mature on a particular date.
With interest rates being only they currently are, it is very dangerous for an investor to place capital into a relationship fund because when they wish to obtain money back, they will have to sell out of the bond fund which will be at a much lower price when interest rates start to rise. With an individual bond when rates change, the investor continues to earn the first yield he or she bought the bond at and can reinvest their principal at the existing rates once the bond matures.
-When buying a relationship fund, it is obviously crucial that you ask the broker what issuers would be the underlying securities from, what's the revenue for these securities, and what ratings do the underlying securities have. In this manner the investor is fully aware of what he or she's putting his / her hard earned capital into. It can be important for the investor to ask what fees are related to the bond fund as most funds have plenty of fees that will eat into an investor's profit. Bonds funds are known if you are highly lucrative for brokers or salespeople.
An investor also needs to ask the broker what the SEC yield is when buying a relationship fund. Many brokers quote the existing yield of the fund which is typically higher compared to the SEC yield which is the real return on the investment. When buying individual bonds the SEC Yield or yield to worst case scenario is nearly always quoted to the investor.
For somebody that is worried with diversification, it is just a common misconception an investor can have more diversification by way of a bond fund; this is simply not true. When an investor buys a few different individual bonds, he or she is simply creating their particular fund. The investor can tailor their portfolio or 'created fund' to his / her specific investment goals by picking and choosing the precise bonds that get into the portfolio. Not only will the investor get excellent diversification and have a portfolio fitting their specific needs, but he or she'll know the real quality of each security he or she owns.
