Risk of investing in bonds
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- 07.04.2020
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Following are the risks associated with investment in bonds: Interest Rate Risk Diversification Since the price of a bond changes as with the changes in the market interest rates, the risks that an investor gets to face is that the price of a bond will drop in case the market interest rates rise.
This risk is known as interest rate risk and is the most common risk faced by investors in the bond market. Credit Risk Failure in timely payment of interest by principal issuer will let the investor face credit risk. Credit risk is less of a factor for bond funds that invest in insured bonds or Treasury bonds. In comparison, people who invest in the bonds of companies with poor credit ratings are generally subjected to higher risk. TIPS do not adjust at all if inflation decreases over the life of the bond.
Because this inflation factor is a component of the interest payment calculation, interest payments for TIPS are variable, even though the coupon is fixed. There are bond funds that invest exclusively in TIPS, as well as some that use TIPS to offset inflation risk that may affect other securities in the portfolio.
Call risk A callable bond has a provision that allows the issuer to call, or repay, the bond early. If interest rates drop low enough, the bond's issuer can save money by repaying its callable bonds and issuing new bonds at lower interest rates. If this happens, the bondholder's interest payments cease and they receive their principal early.
If the bond holder then reinvests the principal in a bond of similar characteristics such as credit rating , they will likely have to accept a lower interest payment or coupon rate , one that is more consistent with prevailing interest rates. Therefore, the investor's total return will be lower and the related interest payment stream will be lower—a more serious risk to investors dependent on that income.
Before purchasing a callable bond investors should evaluate not only the bond's yield to maturity YTM but also take account of the yield to call or the yield to worst YTW. Yield to worst calculates the worst yield from the 2 potential outcomes—either that the bond runs through its stated maturity date, or is redeemed earlier. Prepayment risk Some classes of individual bonds, including mortgage-backed bonds, are subject to prepayment risk.
This is especially prevalent in the mortgage-backed bond market, where a drop in mortgage rates can initiate a refinancing wave. When homeowners refinance their mortgages, the investor in the underlying pool of mortgage-backed bonds receives his or her principal back sooner than expected, and must reinvest at lower, prevailing rates. Liquidity risk Liquidity risk is the risk that you might not be able to buy or sell investments quickly for a price that is close to the true underlying value of the asset.
When a bond is said to be liquid, there's generally an active market of investors buying and selling that type of bond. Treasury bonds and larger issues by well known corporations are generally very liquid. But not all bonds are liquid; some trade very infrequently e. Liquidity risk can be greater for bonds that have lower credit ratings or were recently downgraded , or bonds that were part of a small issue or sold by an infrequent issuer.
Weighing the risks of individual bonds vs. This can help lessen the downside impact from a credit event impacting any one of the issuers. Liquidity The liquidity risk just described above can be more exaggerated with an individual bond. In certain cases there may not be an active 2-way market for a specific bond and the price discovery process could take several hours. With a bond fund, on the other hand, the investor has access to buy or sell at the end of the day, and with a bond ETF, throughout the market trading day.
Return of principal With individual bonds so long as the issuer does not default an investor will be paid the bond's par value when the bond matures. A bond fund or bond ETF on the other hand does not mature and its value will fluctuate.
While a bond's price can fall, the investor has an option to wait until it matures or is redeemed. Income predictability The future cash flows of an individual bond from coupons and principal payments are contractually transparent and can be predicted—with the caveat of insolvency as described above.
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If you sell it in the secondary market, the bond will then trade at a discount to reflect the lower return that the buyer will make on the bond. This is why interest rates are said to have an inverse relationship with bond prices. The inverse relationship between market interest rates and bond prices holds true under falling interest-rate environments as well. The originally issued bond would sell at a premium above par value because the coupon payments associated with this bond would be greater than the coupon payments offered on newly issued bonds.
As you can infer, the relationship between the price of a bond and market interest rates is explained by the changes in supply and demand for a bond in a changing interest-rate environment. Market interest rates are a function of several factors including the supply and demand for money in the economy, the inflation rate , the stage that the business cycle is in, and the government's monetary and fiscal policies. As a result, the original bond will trade at a discount in order to compensate for this difference.
Supply and Demand Interest rate risk can also be understood in terms of supply and demand. Now, what would happen if market interest rates increased by one percentage point? For this reason, the issuer of the original bond would find it difficult to find a buyer willing to pay par value for the bond in a rising interest rate environment because a buyer could purchase a newly issued bond that pays a higher coupon amount.
The bond issuer would have to sell it at a discount from par value. The discount would have to make up the difference in the coupon amount in order to attract a buyer. Reinvestment Risk Another risk associated with the bond market is reinvestment risk. A bond poses a reinvestment risk if its proceeds will need to be reinvested in a security with a lower yield. Call Risk for Bond Investors Another risk is that a bond will be called by its issuer.
A bond can be issued with a call provision that allows the issuer the option to retire it early. The principal is repaid in full and the agreement to pay interest is canceled. This is usually done when interest rates fall substantially since the issue date. The issuer can retire the old, high-rate bonds and issue a new round of bonds at a lower rate of interest. Default Risk Default risk is the possibility that a bond's issuer will go bankrupt and will be unable to pay its obligations in a timely manner if at all.
If the bond issuer defaults, the investor can lose part or all of the original investment and any interest that was owed. Their ratings are an evaluation of the financial soundness of the bond issuer and are intended to give investors an idea of how likely it is that a default on its bond payments will occur. For example, the U.
They have the means to pay their debts by raising taxes or printing money, making default extremely unlikely. However, some struggling nations have very low credit ratings, indicating that they are more likely to default on their bond payments. Their bondholders may lose some or all their investments. Low-rated bonds are also known as junk bonds. Inflation Risk Just as inflation erodes the buying power of money, it can erode the value of a bond's returns.
Inflation risk has the greatest effect on fixed bonds , which have a set interest rate from inception. The interest rates of floating-rate bonds or floaters are adjusted periodically to match inflation rates, limiting investors' exposure to inflation risk. However, an investment that seems very attractive in terms of its potential return may not be the right choice if it carries an unacceptably high risk.
High risk investments generally require that the investor has the ability to hold it for the longer term years , in order to allow shorter term performance issues time to resolve themselves. Importantly, investors should remember however that accepting high levels of risk does not always result in high returns. Not all investment decisions will turn out as expected, but diversification can be a key tool in managing risk.
By acquiring a portfolio of varied investments across a range of asset classes shares, bonds, cash, etc , geographies and sectors, investors can minimise the effects which poorly performing investments can have on their overall portfolio. This diversification theory applies within asset classes as much as at portfolio level. There are specific risks which investors should be aware of when investing in certain asset classes.
The following sections deal with some of the risks which apply when investing in bonds. The main risks of investing in bonds include the following: Interest Rate Risk Rising interest rates are a key risk for bond investors. Generally, rising interest rates will result in falling bond prices, reflecting the ability of investors to obtain an attractive rate of interest on their money elsewhere.
Remember, lower bond prices mean higher yields or returns available on bonds. Conversely, falling interest rates will result in rising bond prices, and falling yields. Credit Risk This is the risk that an issuer will be unable to make interest or principal payments when they are due, and therefore default. Fixed income investors examine the ratings of an issuer in order to establish the credit risk of a bond. Ratings range from AAA to D.
Bonds with a ratings at or near AAA are considered very likely to be repaid, while bonds with a rating of D are considered to be more likely to default, and thus are considered more speculative and subject to more price volatility. As bonds tend not to offer extraordinarily high returns, they are particularly vulnerable when inflation rises.
Inflation may lead to higher interest rates which is negative for bond prices. Inflation Linked Bonds are structured to protect investors from the risk of inflation. The coupon stream and the principal or nominal increase in line with the rate of inflation and therefore, investors are protected from the threat of inflation.
Reinvestment Risk When interest rates are declining, investors may have to reinvest their coupon income and their principal at maturity at lower prevailing rates. Liquidity Risk This is the risk that investors may have difficulty finding a buyer when they want to sell and may be forced to sell at a significant discount to market value.
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