Fixed Income Securities

Fixed income securities return a fixed interest (coupon) rate on a periodic basis (monthly or quarterly) for a fixed period of time (maturity date). From an investor’s perspective, investments are essentially loans to a borrower who pays interest and makes a promise to repay the loan at a future date. There can be collateral for the loan, or a guarantee to be repaid before other creditors of the borrower, or simply a loan based on the creditworthiness of the borrower. Investments in fixed income securities are exposed to any of the following risks:

• Default Risk
• Call Risk
• Reinvestment Rate Risk
• Price Risk

Default and call risk cannot be eliminated which is why interest rates paid are adjusted to compensate investors to assume this risk. Reinvestment rate and price risk can be virtually eliminated by matching the maturity dates of the fixed income security with the date the funds are needed. This concept in practice is utilized through a statistical measure known as the duration of the fixed income security or portfolio. The duration is defined as the average weighted date that the invested funds are returned to investors.

Reinvestment risk and price risks both arise from uncertainty about future market interest rates. The impact of changes in market interest rates has an opposite effect on reinvestment and price risks. Increasing market interest rate lower the price of fixed income securities while increases the interest rates at which interest payments can be reinvested. The investment concept of duration helps balance these two risks when evaluating fixed income securities with different maturity dates.

Fixed income securities can be classified according to the structure of interest rates based in terms of maturity dates as follows:

• Cash Equivalents;
• Notes; and
• Bonds.

It is important to determine what percentage of your investment portfolio should be invested in fixed income securities based on your investment objectives, risk tolerances and investment time horizon.

Investors are advised to seek competent financial, tax and legal advice concerning the decisions they make with their investments. KlaymanToskes can provide you with a free consultation concerning any securities industry violations related to the handling of your investments accounts by a full-service brokerage firm or registered investment advisor.

Information contained on this webpage is for educational purposes only
and should not be considered legal advice.
No Information contained on this website creates an attorney-client relationship.