What is a bond?

Learn what a bond is

When governments and companies want to raise money, they’ll often do so by issuing bonds.

Bonds are effectively promissory notes. In return for buying bonds, investors will receive the money they put in back, plus interest.
Investors usually buy bonds because they promise a fixed return, in the form of interest, that is supposed to be paid back at one or several preset dates.

As the interest rate paid on bonds is usually fixed and pre-set, it’s common for bonds to be referred to as ‘fixed-income’ investments. Today, not all bonds have a fixed interest rate. Many are now issued with variable or floating interest rates, which change over time.

Deep dive: What are bonds and why investors buy them?

More terms

Profit and Loss Statement (P&L)

A statement that summarises firm's expenses, costs, and revenues incurred during a time period. AKA income statement.
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Dividends

Find out what dividends are and how they can contribute to the growth of your investment portfolio.
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Professional Client

An investor that is able to meet several regulatory criteria.
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Base rate

What's the base rate?
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Nominal amount

The face value of a gilt. It represents the amount that will be repaid to the holder at maturity and is also used to calculate the dividend or coupon payment.
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Accrued interest

The interest earned on a gilt since the last dividend date. When buying a gilt, the buyer pays the accrued interest at the time of a transaction to the seller in addition to the clean price of the gilt
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52-week high/low

The highest, or lowest, price a share has traded at in a passing year.
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American Depository Receipts (ADRs)

Tradeable assets that let Americans invest in overseas stocks using US laws and dollars.
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Know Your Customer (KYC)

A legal requirement for financial firms to understand exactly who their customers are. Used to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.
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