Bonds are a relatively safe and conservative investment that provide a predictable stream of stable income.
BONDS STARTER GUIDE ARTICLES | |
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What Is A Bond? How Do Bonds Work? |
| Bonds are seldom as sexy as those wild-ride shares, but they’re reliable money-makers. Learn about bonds and how to match them to your personal investing style. | |
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How To Buy Bonds? |
| Bonds may be lower risk, but they are not risk-free. You should research bonds just as you would stocks before purchasing them. Learn how and where to buy bonds. | |
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The Bond Market |
| The bond market is where participants can issue new debt or buy and sell debt securities to provide long-term funding for public and private expenditures | |
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Bond Index |
| A bond index is a method of measuring the value of a section of the bond market. Investors use it to describe the market and compare the return on investments | |
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Bond Quotes |
| A bond quote is the price at which a bond is trading. It’s expressed as a percentage of par value. A bond quote above 100 means the bond is trading above par. | |
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Bond Rates, Yields And Pricing |
| Many new investors are surprised to learn that a bond’s price fluctuates and changes on a daily basis, just like that of any other publicly-traded security. | |
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Bond Calculators |
| A bond calculator measures the present value of a bond’s cash flow (its future interest payments), and par value (the bond’s value upon maturity). | |
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Bond Premiums |
| A bond selling at premium is trading above its par value. It’s considered premium when it offers a coupon rate higher than its prevailing interest rates | |
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Bond Ratings |
| Think of a bond rating as a school report card. Companies have ranking for bonds based on the likelihood of the bond defaulting on its invested amount | |
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Bond Valuation |
| Bond valuation is a technique for determining the fair price of a bond. The theoretical fair value is the present value of the stream of cash flows it’s expected to generate. | |
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Bond Insurance |
| Bond insurance is when an insurance company guarantees scheduled payments of interest and principal on a bond in the event of a payment default by the issuer | |
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Savings Bonds |
| Savings bonds, one of the safest investments, are debt securities issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to pay for the government’s borrowing needs. | |
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Municipal Bonds |
| Municipal bonds are issued by states, cities, or other local governments to raise money to fund services or infrastructure projects (road repair, sewers, purchasing land, etc.). | |
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Corporate Bonds |
| Corporate bonds are a major source of capital for many businesses along with equity and bank loans/lines of credit. They can be quite secure or sometimes risky | |
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Treasury Bonds |
| There’s no such thing as a risk-free investment, but if there was it’d be treasury bonds. Interest is paid semi-annually and taxed only at the federal level. | |
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Bond Funds |
| A bond fund invests in bonds or debt securities. It pays dividends including interest on the fund’s underlying securities plus realized capital appreciation. |
The Best Stock Newsletters as of January 3, 2025
Ranking of Top Stock Newsletters Based on Last 3 Years of Stock Picks
We are paid subscribers to dozens of stock and option newsletters. We actively track every recommendation from all of these services, calculate performance, and share our results of the top performing stock newsletters whose subscriptions fees are under $500. The main metric to look for is "Excess Return" which is their return above that of the S&P500. So, based on January 3, 2025 prices:
| Rank | Stock Newsletter | Stock Picks | Average Return | S&P500 Return | Excess Return | Percent Profitable | Max % Return | Min % Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  Alpha Picks | 64 | 71.7% | 23.9% | 47.8% | 77% | 969% | -47% |
| Summary: 2 picks/month based on Seeking Alpha's Quant Rating; Retail Price is $499/yr. See details in our Alpha Picks Review. | FEBRUARY PROMOTION: Save $50 | |||||||
| 2. |  Value Investor | 39 | 26.8% | 13.9% | 12.8% | 51% | 494% | -41% |
| Summary: 10-25 stock picks per year based on Zacks' Quant Rating; Retail Price is $495/yr. Read our Zacks Review. | FEBRUARY PROMOTION:$1, then $495/yr | |||||||
| 3. | Top 10 | 33 | 21.2% | 8.4% | 12.8% | 52% | 170% | -56% |
| Summary: 10 stock picks released on January 1st of each year based on Zacks' Quant Rating & maybe 1 or 2 changes a year; Retail Price is $495/yr. Read our Zacks Review. | FEBRUARY PROMOTION:$1, then $495/yr | |||||||
| 4. |  Moby.co | 311 | 42.1% | 31.4% | 10.7% | 74% | 1030% | -95% |
| Summary: 60-150 stock picks per year, segmented by industry; Retail Price is $199/yr. Read our Moby Review. | FEBRUARY PROMOTION:Get 1 pick free! | |||||||
| 5. |  Stock Advisor Canada | 36 | 31.8% | 25.3% | 6.5% | 81% | 216% | -68% |
| Summary: 1 pick/month from the Toronto stock exchange; Retail Price is CD$199/yr. Read our Motley Fool Canada Stock Advisor Review. | FEBRUARY Promotion: Get $100 Coupon | |||||||
| 6. | Hidden Gems | 76 | 38.1% | 32.9% | 5.2% | 71% | 258% | -100% |
| Summary: Sold as part of Epic service that includes Hidden Gems, Stock Advisor, Rule Breakers; 5 picks/month; Retail Price is $499/yr. Read our Epic Review. | FEBRUARY Promotion: Get $200 Coupon | |||||||
| 7. |  Action Alerts Plus | 378 | 20.8% | 16.7% | 4.1% | 56% | 220% | -77% |
| Summary: 2100-150 trades per year, lots of buying and selling and short term trades. Read our Jim Cramer Review. | Current Promotion: None | |||||||
| 8. |  TipRanks SmartInvestor | 124 | 10.3% | 7.2% | 3.1% | 60% | 269% | -48% |
| Summary: About 1 pick/week focusing on short term trades; Lifetime average return of 355% vs S&P500's 149% since 2015. Retail Price is $379/yr. Read our TipRanks Review. | Current Promotion: Save $180 | |||||||
| 9. | Rule Breakers | 66 | 36.2% | 35.4% | 0.8% | 65% | 344% | -81% |
| Summary: 2 picks/month focusing on disruptive technology and business models; Lifetime average return of 355% vs S&P500's 149% since 2005; Now part of Motley Fool Epic. Read our Motley Fool Epic Review. | Current Promotion: Save $200 | |||||||
| 10. | Stock Advisor Canada | 71 | 25.2% | 24.8% | 0.5% | 73% | 216% | -93% |
| Summary: 2 pick/month from the TSX and U.S. markets; Retail Price is CD$199/yr. Read our Motley Fool Canada Stock Advisor Review. | FEBRUARY Promotion: Get $100 Coupon | |||||||
| Top Ranking Stock Newsletters based on their 2024, 2023, 2022 stock picks' performance as compared to S&P500. S&P500's return is based on average return of S&P500 from date each stock pick is released. NOTE: To get these results you must buy equal dollar amounts of each pick on the date the stock pick is released. Investor Business Daily Top 50 based on performance of FFTY ETF. Performance as of January 3, 2025. | ||||||||
Build your wealth faster with best stock picks: See our current ranking of the BEST STOCK NEWSLETTERS.