Learning ObjectivesStudents will be able to:
| National Standards for Personal Financial Education Investing
|
Warm-Up:
Notes:
Yield = Interest rate = Coupon or coupon rate
Learning ObjectivesStudents will be able to:
| National Standards for Personal Financial Education Investing
|
Your friend asks to borrow $50 and offers to pay you back with interest. What factors would you consider in your decision to accept or decline their request?
Just as you might loan money to a friend, you can loan money to a government or corporation through a bond. Bonds are one of the most common investment options available to you. Watch this video to learn more about bonds and follow your teacher's directions to answer the questions either in your student activity packet or within the EdPuzzle itself.
NOTE: EdPuzzle videos shuffle answer choices and do not always match the order provided in the lesson here.
All of the following are true about bonds EXCEPT…
Bonds are considered a riskier investment option than stocks.
A bond is a loan given to a company or government by an investor who receives interest in return.
Companies and governments issue bonds to fund new projects or ongoing expenses.
Bonds are a way for investors to diversify their portfolios and generate additional income.
As you learned in the previous video, you can buy a corporate bond or a government bond. There are different types of bonds within these two categories as well! Read through the infographic on this page to learn about the different bond types. Then, answer the questions.
Which type of bond would you be comfortable investing in? Explain.
If you buy a bond and hold it through its maturity date, the ups and downs of the bond market will not impact your investment. However, if you decide to sell a bond before its maturity date, you need to understand how the current market’s interest rates impact the price of your bond. Read through this infographic and watch the video to learn more about this relationship. Then, answer the questions.
When investing in bonds, most investors choose to invest in bond funds, rather than selecting individual bonds. Watch this video to learn about bond funds and how they differ from bonds. Then, answer the questions.
Exit Ticket:
Which of the following most accurately describes what a bond is?
By the end of a bond's maturity, the investor will have received…
Only the face value of the issued bond
The face value of the bond issued and interest payments
Only interest payments
Half the face value of the issued bond and interest payments
What is default risk?
The risk that the investor is not able to pay the face value of the bond.
The risk that the company or government is not able to make interest payments.
The risk that the investor demands the face value of the bond before the bond fully matures.
The risk that the company or government is unable to pay back the investor
You've decided you want to sell a bond before its maturity date. Interest rates are currently higher than when you bought the bond. What will you likely have to do to make your bond more appealing to investors?
Lower the interest rate
Sell your bond at a discounted price
Increase the interest rate
Sell your bond at a higher price
When selecting a bond fund to invest in, it’s important to analyze its fund fact sheet. In this activity, you’ll practice reading a bond mutual fund fact sheet. Follow the directions on the worksheet to complete this activity.
Before doing this activity watch this video: How to Read a Bond Fund Fact Sheet,
What does this fund primarily invest in?
U.S. Treasury securities
An index of large-capitalization stocks
Corporate investment-grade bonds
An equal mix of stocks and bonds
What is a key risk of investing in this fund?
This fund invests in very speculative, small companies
You are guaranteed only a small amount of interest income each year
If interest rates increase, this fund could lose value
The fund tracks the S&P 500, which is a risky short-term investment
What are this fund’s total net assets?
$4.07 billion
$6.8 billion
$9.2 billion
$11.325 billion
Which benchmark is this fund tracking?
Vanguard Intermediate Term Treasury Fund Index
Bloomberg US 5-10 Year Treasury Index
Issuer Bonds Index
Vanguard Fixed Income Group Index
What is the level of risk of this investment?
Lowest risk
Low risk
Medium risk
High risk
This fund’s expense ratio is _______. You would pay _______ in fees on a balance of $10,000.
0.01%; $1
0.20%; $20
3.78%; $378
4.07%; $407
What is the minimum investment for this fund?
$3,000
$5,271
$10,000
There is no specified minimum investment
If you invested $10,000 in this fund in January 2014, how much would it be worth in December 2023?
$10,000
$10,407
$11,325
$11,496
What was this fund’s rate of annual return in 2023?
2.28%
4.07%
4.11%
217%
In the last 10 years shown, how many years did this fund have NEGATIVE returns?
0 years
2 years
5 years
8 years
Part II: What Did You Learn?
Based on this information, do you think this fund is a good investment? Explain why or why not.
Juan buys a bond with a fixed coupon rate of 3%. Six months later, similar bonds that are issued have a coupon rate of 4%. Which of the following is TRUE if he chooses to sell the bond before maturity?
One difference between bonds and bond funds is…
