The bond markets

  • Jul 04 2022
  • by
  • Analyst AZA
The bond markets

The bond market is one of the most paid attention markets

The bond market is one of the most paid attention markets since most public and private entities have exposure to the bond markets. We have different types of bonds and each one of them has its unique characteristics. We have treasury bonds, municipal bonds, corporate bonds, etc. Treasury bonds can be used to assess the expectation of future interest rates and the state of the economy. In this article, we will be providing a broader view of the bond markets and later we'll be explaining how a forex trader can use the information provided by the treasury yields to make better trading decisions. Bonds do not only provide us with insights into the health of the economy but also give us a good signal into how to go about investing for the future. Stocks have had greater returns than bonds over a long duration of time like twenty years, fifty years, and hundred years, but if we look at shorter time frames like five years, bonds have had an upper hand.

During times of market uncertainty or when the markets are risk-off, bonds tend to have a better performance than stocks. When the central banks are hiking rates to rein in inflation, short-term bonds will be in higher demand than long-term bonds and equities. It is impossible to know the forces that will impact markets in the future. Therefore, we should not invest in a single asset class and we should try to invest in different instruments that are not correlated to one another. Investors must know how much capital to allocate to a particular class of asset that is in their portfolio, and this can be a determinant of whether one is profitable or not. It makes sense to see a youngster having a riskier portfolio than a person who is closer to or in retirement because the youngster has more time to make back the lost capital and if the retiree loses a substantial amount of capital, they might have to readjust their lifestyle.

There is a wide variety of options that will suit investors' preferences. For example, if a person does not have time, or the knowledge to personally manage their bond holding, they can simply invest in a bond mutual fund. A bond mutual fund pools capital from investors and use it to execute trades for those investors, but the returns are not as much as when you trade for yourself. Another option would be to invest in exchange-traded funds. ETFs track the performance of an index and are better than Bond mutual funds because they are more liquid but more expensive. Bonds are loans that are acquired by an entity with a promise of paying regular payments to the creditor. If the Bond is held until the expiration date the creditor will receive the principal amount that was paid initially. Bonds that are issued by the United States treasury are considered to be risk-free.

The reason for this is that the government can always come up with solutions for repaying their debt. For example, they can raise taxes, print more money, or simply put more bonds on sale and use the money to pay the outstanding bonds. If the debtor of the bond is unable to pay back the creditors that means the issuer has defaulted on the debt and will settle it with lesser payments or won't pay anything. The higher the risk of the bond, the higher the compensation to the investor, which is why it is usual to find corporate bonds having higher coupon rates than treasury bonds. Credit rating agencies regularly provide reports on the health of different bonds and traders should pay close attention to them so that they can apply the adjustment to their holdings. when a bond is downgraded, traders and investors should minimize the exposure of their portfolio to them and acquire those that have a higher rating, thereby lower credit risk.

Before investing in bonds make sure you understand the provisions that are stipulated in the indenture. The call provisions give the right to call in the bond before the expiration date, this can be beneficial to the issuer and a setback to the holder, especially when interest rates depreciate below the coupon rates of the bond. As a solution, the investor can acquire ones that are protected against call provision for a specified time. A bondholder should acquire bonds with a put provision, this will allow the investor to sell before the agreed-upon date. An acquisition of this type of bond will protect the holder against the effects of policy rate hikes. Therefore, since they offer protection against inflation, they tend to have increased costs than standard ones. Taxes are one of the most errors of returns from an investment and for an investor to generate maximum returns on their investment they need to have a tax plan.

This can be in a form of holding a bond for a longer time than a shorter period because bonds that are held for longer durations tend to incur lesser taxes. There are risks in holding bonds and we have already explained the interest rate risk and the default risk. When a bondholder is unable to find buyers for the bonds he holds, he can be exposed to adverse bond market movements and this is referred to as liquidity risk. Political risk is faced by foreign bondholders and this can be a result of wars, inflation, protests, or any other factors that can influence the receipt of coupons and principal. Therefore, if one was to invest in a foreign Bond it's advised for them to research the state of the markets, the potential of a political conflict, and how they can be protected from those risks. Forex traders are required to have a basic understanding of how the bond markets work and how they influence the foreign exchange market.

The most followed bond market in the world is the United States treasury bond market and those who follow it closely are known as the bond vigilantes. The yields and prices of bonds are inversely correlated, meaning when the price of the bond decreases the yields appreciate. The yield curve is a plot of the bond yields of the same credit risk but a different expiration date and it can be used to get information about future rate expectations. When the curve is upward looking it means market participants are expecting a future rise in rates. In contrast, when the curve is tilted to the downside it means market participants might be expecting a potential recession. The yield curve can also be flat, which can be an indication of a more normalized monetary stance. When the curve is inverted it means long-term bonds are in higher demand than short-term bonds, and that causes yields of short-term bonds to go higher than those of bonds with longer maturities.

This is the reason the spread between the two-year yield and the ten-year yield is paid much attention. When the markets are in panic mode the spread between the treasury yields and corporate bonds of the same maturity will tend to widen. It will be beneficial for a trader to track the performance of the yield curves of different countries and compare them. Monetary policy actions impact the economy through the bond market. Therefore, whether it's for speculation or as an indicator, it's essential to understand the bond markets as they impact almost every sector of the economy.

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ETFs track the performance of an index and are better than Bond mutual funds because they are more liquid but more expensive.

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