Investing 102

[GregWeld]

Smart move. If the economy is going to come around - which I think it is.... and houses are selling again... rates are going to rise from here.

Now for those that don't understand BONDS. People buy BONDS because you get 100% of their capital back upon maturity. That is - if you buy a 5 year bond - you'd get semi annual interest payments (NOT dividends!) each year and then at maturity you'll get all your cash back.

Okay - so big deal!? Right!? Well.... the catch is that if bond yields (interest rates) RISE -- then the VALUE of your bond declines until it's STATED yield meets what someone could get by buying a new bond at current rates. Not a big deal IF -- BIG IF -- You're holding until maturity... but then let's say you have a 5 year bond @ 4% -- FIVE YEARS is a long time.... and it's ONLY going to pay 4%. Period. If I want to earn more money for the next 4 years... I have to sell that bond at a loss of face value... or I have to accept a sub par interest rate.

Right now -- I owned bonds that paid above market rates -- therefore they were worth MORE than face value... so if you think rates are going to go up -- then not only would I lose the CAPITAL GAIN from the sale by holding to maturity -- I'd have below rate interest rate income as well and if I wanted to change that anytime before maturity I'd take a loss. So why not sell now - capture the capital gain --- and invest in something that is a little better going forward. Perhaps.

I hope that makes some sense.