South Florida Arbitration & Litigation Lawyer Blog
Risks Associated With High-Yield Corporate Bonds. Florida High Yield Corporate Bond Fraud, Misrepresentation and Breach of Fiduciary Duty FINRA Arbitration and Litigation Attorney.
Some investors with a greater risk tolerance may find high-yield corporate bonds attractive, particularly in low interest rate environments. If you are considering buying a high-yield bond, it is important that you understand the risks involved.
Default Risk. Also referred to as credit risk, this is the risk that a company will fail to make timely interest or principal payments and default on its bond. Defaults also can occur if the company fails to meet certain terms of its debt agreement. Because high-yield bonds are typically issued by companies with higher risks of default, this risk is particularly important to consider when investing in high-yield bonds.
Interest Rate Risk. Market interest rates have a major impact on bond investments. The price of a bond moves in the opposite direction than market interest rates-like opposing ends of a seesaw. This presents investors with interest rate risk, which is common to all bonds. In addition, the longer the bond’s maturity, the more time there is for rates to change and, as a result, affect the price of the bond. Therefore, bonds with longer maturities generally present greater interest rate risk than bonds of similar credit quality that have shorter maturities.
Economic Risk. If the economy falters, some investors are likely to try to sell their bonds. In what is known as a “flight to quality,” a number of investors may decide to replace their riskier high-yield bonds with safer ones, such as U.S. treasury bonds. If there are more sellers than buyers for high-yield bonds, the supply will exceed demand and prices of the bonds will fall. In addition, some companies that issue high-yield bonds may be less able to weather challenging economic circumstances, increasing the risk of default.
Liquidity Risk. Liquidity is the ability to sell an asset, such as a bond, for cash when the owner chooses. Bonds that are traded frequently and at high volumes may have stronger liquidity than bonds that trade less frequently. Liquidity risk is the risk that investors seeking to sell their bonds may not receive a price that reflects the true value of the bonds (based on the bond’s interest rate and creditworthiness of the company). High-yield bonds may be subject to more liquidity risk than, for example, investment-grade bonds.
Please keep in mind that the above information is being provided for educational purposes only. It is not designed to be complete in all material respects. Thus, it should not be relied upon as legal or investment advice. If after reading this post, you have any quesions, the reader should contact a qualified professional.
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