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Fixed income
20 guides in Finabase Learn
- Bond A loan from an investor to a government or company that pays interest on a schedule and returns the principal at maturity.
- Bond ETFs vs individual bonds: maturity, risk and cost compared Why a bond fund never matures, why holding a bond to maturity doesn’t erase a rate loss, and how costs, diversification and ladders compare, with worked numbers.
- Bonds and fixed income: how bonds work, pay and lose value What a bond is, how its cash flows and price are calculated, the main types of fixed income, the five risks to know, and what the 2020–2023 rate shock did to bond ETFs.
- Corporate Bond Debt issued by a company to raise money, paying interest and carrying more credit risk than government bonds of similar maturity.
- Coupon The annual interest a bond pays, stated as a percentage of its face value; a 5% coupon on a $1,000 bond pays $50 a year.
- Face value (par value) The amount a bond pays back at maturity, commonly $1,000, on which coupon payments are calculated.
- High-yield bond A bond rated below investment grade (below BBB- or Baa3), paying higher interest to compensate for greater default risk.
- Maturity The date on which a bond's principal is due to be repaid and interest payments stop.
- Money market fund A mutual fund that invests in short-term, high-quality debt and aims to keep a stable value, used as a cash alternative.
- Municipal bond A bond issued by a US state, city or other local government, whose interest is often exempt from federal income tax.
- Preferred stock A class of shares that pays a set dividend ahead of common stock and ranks above it in liquidation, usually without voting rights.
- Principal The original sum invested or borrowed, as distinct from interest or returns; for a bond, the face amount repaid at maturity.
- Treasury auctions: how the US sells its debt and how to read results How single-price Treasury auctions work, competitive versus noncompetitive bids, the 35% rule, and how to read high yield, bid-to-cover, tails and bidder shares.
- Treasury bill Short-term US government debt maturing in one year or less, sold at a discount to face value and repaid in full at maturity.
- Treasury bills, notes and bonds: the US government’s debt menu The marketable Treasury securities explained: bill, note and bond maturities, how each pays interest, TIPS and floating-rate notes, taxes, and how to compare them.
- Treasury bond Long-term US government debt issued with a 20- or 30-year maturity, paying a fixed coupon every six months and highly sensitive to interest rates.
- Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) US Treasury bonds whose principal rises and falls with the Consumer Price Index, so their interest and final payment keep pace with inflation.
- Treasury note US government debt with a maturity of two to ten years that pays a fixed coupon every six months; the 10-year note is a global benchmark rate.
- Yield to maturity (YTM) The annual return a bond delivers if bought at today’s price and held to maturity, counting every coupon plus the gain or loss to face value.
- Zero-coupon bond A bond that pays no periodic interest, sold at a deep discount and repaid at full face value at maturity, so the discount is the return.
Educational content, not investment advice. Finabase Learn explains how markets and tools work. It does not recommend any security or strategy, and examples are for illustration only. Investing involves risk, including the loss of principal. Rules and figures are for the United States unless stated and can change — check the cited source before you act.