What is Bond Face Value? Bond Investing

Depending on the security purchased, face value may represent different amounts. The face value of a stock is the original price the investor paid, but a bond’s face value is the amount the holder receives once the bond reaches maturity. However, in the housing market, face value refers to the asking or listing price. Also referred to as “par value,” an asset may be sold above or below par depending on market fluctuations. In the context of home loans, face value may also refer to the principal of a mortgage.

• To sell the original $1000 bond, the price can be lowered so that the coupon payments and maturity value equal a yield of 12%.
• For example, calculating the yield on a callable bond is difficult because the date at which the bond might be called is unknown.
• The amount you receive at maturity remains unchanged unless the issuer defaults on the payment.
• A normal yield curve features lower interest rates for short-term bonds and higher interest rates for long-term bonds.

David Waring was the founder of LearnBonds.com and has been a major contributor to the extensive library of investing news and information available on the site. Until the launch of Learnbonds.com in late 2011 there was no single site on the internet catering exclusively to the individual bond investor. This was true even though more individuals own stocks than bonds. The face value of a bond matters not only because its how much you receive when the bond matures, but also because its how your coupon interest payment is calculated. If a bond has a face value of $1000 and a coupon interest rate of 6%, then you receive $60 per year from the bond.

Considering Bond Prices (Discount vs. Premium)

If the bond face value is $1,000, you will receive $1,000 at bond maturity. The sad truth is that some dealers are not the best to build your entire investment portfolio. Some only understand bonds and while this might be a good thing for now, if you choose to invest in stocks later, go to someone else.

Bond valuation looks at discounted cash flows at their net present value if held to maturity. Duration instead measures a bond’s price sensitivity to a 1% change in interest rates. Longer-term bonds will also have a larger number of future cash flows to discount, and so a change to the discount rate will have a greater impact on the NPV of longer-maturity bonds as well. If it was $1,000 at issue, then that’s exactly what the holder of the bond will receive when it matures at the end of its term. If you are serious about investing in bonds, you should understand bond face value because it determines the amount you will receive at bond maturity. Also, bond face value affects the coupon payments and consequently, your interest in the long run.

Coupon Bond Valuation

The principal is returned at the end of a bond’s term, known as its maturity date. Instead of settling for 2%, investors realize they can instead try to buy the 5% bond in secondary markets. Instead of being able to buy the bonds at par value, the bond’s price has become more expensive. You’ll still get your 5% coupon rate; however, you’ll have overpaid for the bonds and your true yield will be closer to 2%. Before we dive into calculating the current bond price with our bond valuation calculator, let’s take some time to talk about what a bond is.

• While the interest rate is fixed, the amount of interest you get every six months may vary due to any change in the principal.
• With regards to bonds, the fluctuation of interest rates in either direction is what impacts the value of the bond.
• Believe it or not, such scenarios are more common than you would think.
• This page explains pricing and interest rates for the five different Treasury marketable securities.
• A Municipal Bond is usually issued by local Governments to finance public projects such as roads, schools, and airports.
• Time to maturity also usually influences bond prices; however, the exact effect depends on the shape of the yield curve.

It is the rate of return bond investors will get if they hold the bond to maturity. When you purchase a bond from the bond issuer, you are essentially making a loan to the bond the difference between gross and net revenue issuer. As the bond price is the amount of money investors pay for acquiring the bond, it is one of the most important, if not the most important, metrics in valuing the bond.

These include the YTM, bond equivalent yield (BEY), and effective annual yield (EAY). To calculate the coupon per period, you will need two inputs, namely the coupon rate and frequency. The price may be greater than, less than, or equal to the FRN’s par amount. This page explains pricing and interest rates for the five different Treasury marketable securities. The graph above explains why U.S. homes sell for way above face value. This is because the inventory has drastically depleted over the past two years or so.

What Is the Face Value of a Bond?

Market value is the price that the market will bear, and it can differ significantly from a stock’s initial price. For example, the face value of Apple shares is $0.00001, while the market value of its shares can fluctuate above $100. The cumulative face value of the entirety of a company’s stock shares designates the legal capital a corporation is obligated to maintain. Only the above-and-beyond capital may be released to investors, in the form of dividends. In essence, the funds that cover the face value, function as a type of default reserve.

When this happens, the price of a bond is not the same as the par value. J.B. Maverick is an active trader, commodity futures broker, and stock market analyst 17+ years of experience, in addition to 10+ years of experience as a finance writer and book editor. SmartAsset Advisors, LLC (“SmartAsset”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Financial Insight Technology, is registered with the U.S. SmartAsset does not review the ongoing performance of any RIA/IAR, participate in the management of any user’s account by an RIA/IAR or provide advice regarding specific investments. An author, teacher & investing expert with nearly two decades experience as an investment portfolio manager and chief financial officer for a real estate holding company. In the case of stock certificates, face value is the par value of the stock.

Bond Equivalent Yield (BEY)

If you still own the bond after 20 years or the note after seven years, you get back the face value of the security. That means you will have also earned $1.66 for every $100 par value of your bond and $0.57 for every $100 par value of your note. The difference between the face value and the discounted price you pay is “interest.”

At the end of the bond’s term, face value becomes important—it’s the amount investors will receive as the investment culminates. It provides a level of certainty that’s well worth the wait for risk-averse investors. Some companies issue their shares with some nominal par value such as $0.01 per share or less, which is not indicative of the market price of those shares. Companies in other states may issue no-par value stock, which has no such stated value. Any change in public perception of a firm’s creditworthiness can influence the price of its bonds.

All of this plays a role in the desirability of a bond in the secondary market, which affects market price vs. par value. When you purchase bonds, you expect the bond issuer to send you interest regularly. While this is a plus, the downside is that there is no way of predicting the rate at which you will reinvest your cash.

A bond is basically a written promise that the amount loaned to the issuer will be paid back. The alternative to a discount bond is known as a premium bond. Bonds are sold at a premium (higher price) when they have a higher coupon rate than what is currently available in the market. Investors are willing to pay a premium for these bonds to earn a higher interest rate.

What is the YTM?

When a bond matures, the principal amount of the bond is returned to the bondholder. The present value (i.e. the discounted value of a future income stream) is used for better understanding one of several factors an investor may consider before buying the investment. The investor computes the present value of the interest payments and the present value of the principal amount received at maturity.

When an entity issues bonds, it is considered as acquiring funding from investors through issuing debt. The bond market may not be as famous as the stock market, but believe it or not, the global bond market is more than double the stock market. It refers to the value of an asset or security as stated by the issuer at the time of purchase.