Corporate Bond Basics and FAQs

What Is the Minimum Bond Purchase Amount?

What Is the Minimum Bond Purchase Amount?

Posted by Steve Shaw

What Is the Minimum Investment for Corporate Bonds?In our Where To Buy Corporate Bonds Online article, we discuss the many benefits of using online brokerages such as Fidelity.com, E*TRADE, Interactive Brokers, Schwab.com, and Vanguard...

Where to Buy Corporate Bonds Online and How

Where to Buy Corporate Bonds Online and How

Posted by Steve Shaw updated November 8, 2024

Corporate bond investing has moved online in a big way. Individual investors can execute trades in seconds and at prices often as good as -- or even better than -- the world's largest investors....

What Is a Credit Spread and How Does It Impact Bond Prices?

What Is a Credit Spread and How Does It Impact Bond Prices?

Posted by Steve Shaw updated November 8, 2022

What Is a Credit Spread for Corporate Bonds?Credit spreads, also known as Treasury spreads, are the difference between a corporate bond's yield to maturity ("YTM") and the YTM of a US Treasury bond or...

How the Bond Ratings Scale Impacts Bond Prices

How the Bond Ratings Scale Impacts Bond Prices

Posted by Steve Shaw updated November 3, 2022

Notches on the bond ratings scale represent the opinion of credit rating agencies as to the likelihood of a bond issuer defaulting, but they do not tell investors whether a bond is a good...

Key Corporate Bonds Advantages and Disadvantages

Key Corporate Bonds Advantages and Disadvantages

Posted by Steve Shaw updated February 3, 2023

We founded BondSavvy in 2017 so more individual investors could benefit from the income, capital growth, and relative safety individual corporate bonds can provide.  Few investors take advantage of owning corporate bonds and, instead,...

The Advantage of Bonds Being Priced off Par Value

The Advantage of Bonds Being Priced off Par Value

Posted by Steve Shaw updated May 6, 2025

Corporate bonds trade as a percentage of their $1,000 par value, and it's a big advantage individual corporate bonds have over bond funds. In this bond investing FAQ article, we explain how investors can use...

Corporate Bond Research: Our 16 Investment Considerations

Corporate Bond Research: Our 16 Investment Considerations

Posted by Steve Shaw updated May 1, 2025

We founded Bondsavvy to put individual investors in control of their bond portfolios and to increase their investment returns.  A key part of this is providing Bondsavvy subscribers with comprehensive, easy-to-understand bond recommendations that...

How To Calculate Accrued Interest on Corporate Bonds

How To Calculate Accrued Interest on Corporate Bonds

Posted by Steve Shaw updated February 22, 2023

Bond investors are generally familiar with the term 'accrued interest;' however, many may not know the exact accrued interest calculation that determines the accrued interest buyers pay -- or sellers receive -- as part...

How To Calculate and Use Leverage Ratios

How To Calculate and Use Leverage Ratios

Posted by Steve Shaw updated June 8, 2023

Bondsavvy, the leading provider of individual corporate bond recommendations for individual investors, calculates leverage ratios to assess default risk and relative value of corporate bond investments. Leverage ratios tell us how much debt a...

Why Bondsavvy Is Better Than a Bond Investment Newsletter

Why Bondsavvy Is Better Than a Bond Investment Newsletter

Posted by Steve Shaw updated June 30, 2024

Many fixed income newsletters publish lists of hundreds of bonds and leave it up to subscribers to weigh the risk and potential returns of each investment.  Other bond newsletters focus on all income products,...

What Credit Analysis Does Bondsavvy Conduct When Evaluating Investments?

What Credit Analysis Does Bondsavvy Conduct When Evaluating Investments?

Posted by Steve Shaw updated August 16, 2024

Bondsavvy uses credit analysis to identify undervalued corporate bonds it believes can achieve higher investment returns than the leading bond funds and ETFs. To evaluate potential corporate bond investments, we must understand how bonds...

How To Do a Fidelity Bond Search

How To Do a Fidelity Bond Search

Posted by Steve Shaw updated June 21, 2023

Investors who buy bonds online can do a Fidelity bond search and execute trades with the click of a few buttons.  Bond investing has come a long way over the last 20 years, and...

Bondsavvy's Advantages Over Institutional Credit Research

Bondsavvy's Advantages Over Institutional Credit Research

Posted by Steve Shaw updated April 25, 2025

Steve Shaw founded Bondsavvy in 2017 to empower individual investors to benefit from the income, growth, and safety individual corporate bonds can provide.While Bondsavvy founder Steve Shaw is the leading expert in recommending individual...

What Role Do Individual Corporate Bonds Play in Income Investing?

What Role Do Individual Corporate Bonds Play in Income Investing?

Posted by Steve Shaw updated April 22, 2022

Individual corporate bonds are a crucial component of income investing, as they provide yields generally higher than Treasury bonds, muni bonds, and stocks.  While the total return opportunity for corporate bonds can be less...

What Are Some Corporate Bond Basics?

What Are Some Corporate Bond Basics?

Posted by Steve Shaw updated April 22, 2022

Bonds are debt obligations of the issuing entity.  There are many types of bonds, and a good way to distinguish them is based on the word that comes immediately before the word "bonds."  For...

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