Fixed Interest Securities
"Neither a borrower or a lender be...."
If that is your motto then Fixed Interest isn’t for you. (But nor is buying a house on a mortgage, or saving money in a deposit account).
Fixed Interest investments are those where a borrower agrees to pay a fixed level of interest for a fixed period of time, and then return the money, or (in a small minority of cases) a fixed interest forever (or until you decide to repay).*
The most common error that novices make is to assume that because such loans are only made to reliable borrowers, that their money, or their return, is safe.
It isn't.
Profits in the Fixed Interest area are governed by three factors: -
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Inflation - If inflation rises (or, to be more accurate, is expected to rise), then the future value of a fixed income will be worth less, ie the price of these investments will fall. Today you might pay £10,000 for an £800 a year income, but if inflation rises you might only pay £8,000 for it (ie if you paid £10,000 for an £800pa income today, tomorrow you might only get given £8000 for it. A capital loss of £2000).
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Interest Rates - If these are expected to increase then it means that people can get more income for their money in banks or building societies. So the value of fixed income investments will fall.
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Market sentiment towards the borrower - While the market has confidence that the borrower will meet all payments everything is fine. But should that situation change, then serious falls in the value of these investments can occur. Most Fixed Interest investments are made to governments and large companies, but large companies can fail (Enron) and governments can get themselves in a mess as well (Argentina in 2002 for example).
It is possible to invest directly in Fixed Interest areas - Gilts are loans to the Government, but most people will invest via some form of packaged investment. It is fair to say that only the more cautious investors actively opts for unpackaged non Gilt Fixed Interest areas. In most cases exposure to this area is via professionally managed funds and investments where the manager uses Fixed Interest as one of the tools to produce the overall objectives of the investment.
* In some cases there is never a repayment, and the interest is paid forever (example - the Permanent Interest Bearing Shares and Perpetual Sub Bonds issued by Building Societies).
The value of investments and income from them can fluctuate (this may partially be the result of exchange rate fluctuations), and investors might not get back the full amount invested. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.
Last updated on April 11, 2008