General Resources
- Bonds are debt issued by an organization - be it the US government, local governments, or corporations - with the intention of raising money by borrowing. In return, the organization agrees to pay interest on the principal at a given later date (the maturity date). There are a number of different types of bonds - the most popular are federal, municipal, and coporate bonds. These sites cover a wide range of bond-related topics, from information about municipal bonds to the latest interest rates to bond market analyses.
Research
- Use these sites to research municipal, corporate, and treasury bonds - including bond ratings (generally the degree of risk carried by a corporate bond) and bond data.
Online Trading
- Online bond trading should continue to grow in popularity as more investors add bonds to their portfolio. These sites offer online trading services for the various types of bonds.
Treasuries
- US Treasuries refer to three different debt instruments issued by the US government, T-bills, T-notes, and T-bonds, each having a different maturity. Treasuries are backed by the full faith and credit of the federal government, and are thus very safe investments. Treasuries are negotiable, meaning the interest rate is not necessarily fixed for the life of the treasury, and can be traded. US savings bonds are also very safe investments, but are fixed-interest, non-callable, and non-transferrable (meaning they can not be traded). Use the sites in this section to research and buy US treasuries and savings bonds.
Corporate
- These bonds are issued by companies, usually have a par value of $1,000, and are usually traded on major exchanges. Corporate bonds vary in risk/return - for instance, a company with a poor credit rating will issue 'junk' bonds, which carry a high degree of risk, but offer a greater potential return. These sites will help you research and choose corporate bonds.
Municipal
- Municipal bonds are those offered by state, city, or local governments, often used to finance special projects. Interest on these bonds is generally tax-free. In this section, you'll find information on the municipal bond market and brokers that allow you to purchase muni bonds online.
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