Government债券

For bond investors looking for low risk investments, U.S. 美国国债 are typically the best bet, as they are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. 美国.S. Treasury regularly offers three types of securities: Treasury bills, notes, bonds. Treasury bills (or T-bills) are short-term securities that mature in one year or less from their issue date and are 购买d for a price less than their face value. Treasury notes and bonds are securities that pay a fixed rate of interest every six months until the security matures. Treasury notes mature in more than a year, but not more than ten years from their issue date. 债券, on the other hand, mature in more than ten years from their issue date. 债券 and notes can usually be 购买d for a price close to their face value. Interest from Treasury securities is exempt from state and local income taxes, which make them particularly beneficial if you live in a state with a high tax rate.

除了U.S. 美国国债, certain federal Government agencies or Government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) have been authorized by Congress to issue debt securities to certain groups of borrowers, 比如房主, 农民, 和学生. In general, debt securities issued by GSEs are considered to have high credit quality. However, it is important to recognize that issuers in the U.S. Agency market are corporations and that their bonds are not explicitly guaranteed by the U.S. Government.

市政债券

Just as the federal Government needs funds to operate, local Governments and public entities, 比如学区, often issue municipal bonds to meet their financial needs. Municipal bonds can be issued by states, 城市, 城镇, or public commissions to provide money for schools, 医院, 以及其他公共工程. These securities provide income that is free of federal and, in some cases, state and local taxes. (Although income generated by most municipal bonds is exempt from taxes, any capital gains earned from the sale of bonds are subject to all federal and most state tax laws and certain bonds may be subject to the alternative minimum tax.)

公司债券

公司债券不同于美国国债.S. 美国国债 and municipal bonds, are fully taxable and may carry greater risk. At the same time, they may offer higher returns than tax-advantaged bonds. Corporate bonds are issued by corporations in the need of capital and are typically issued in denominations of $1,000 with terms of 1 to 30 years. 不像股票, bonds do not give the holder ownership interest in the corporation, as they are simply a tool used to lend the corporation funds they need to meet their goals.

Because corporate bonds generally carry greater risks than Government and municipal bonds, it is critical that investors understand the quality of the bond they are considering for investment. To evaluate the credit quality of a bond, investors can look to organizations that rate various corporate bonds, such as Moody's 投资者 Service and Standard & 可怜的. Those bonds rated Baa or above by Moody's and BBB or above by Standard & 可怜的 are considered investment-grade. 债券 rated below investment grade are considered more speculative and carry greater risk.