Talk:Conventional bonds

To Do/Missing?

 * Still missing is some depth to the discussion of credit ratings, i.e. what is minimum level to be considered Investment Grade. There is currently no mention of Yield Curve and implications for a positive or negative slope. --Peculiar Investor 14:46, 22 January 2012 (MST)

What's in a name?

 * In Financial Wisdom Forum • View topic - Bonds and Inflation LadyGeek asks "Is the term "conventional" synonymous with "nominal" bond as I see in the U.S. Bogleheads forum?" Shakespeare replies "Looks like I wrote the base page. I used the term "conventional" to distinguish from RRBs; if "nominal" is the correct term I'm happy to substitute it." What is the correct terminology? --Peculiar Investor 18:36, 23 January 2012 (MST)


 * Google suggests "conventional bonds" is used in the UK. Perhaps the easiest option is to leave the title as is and and add a parenthetic expression (also referred to as nominal bonds). --Shakespeare 18:39, 23 January 2012 (MST)


 * http://www.finiki.org/wiki/Bonds links to Conventional Bonds, which probably forced a name other than "Bonds". Would collapsing the structure make any sense? --Peculiar Investor 18:44, 23 January 2012 (MST)


 * I still like having RRBs and high-yield bonds as separate sections. --Shakespeare 18:55, 23 January 2012 (MST)


 * Agreed. Backtracking a bit further, http://www.finiki.org/wiki/Asset_Classes links to Bonds. Isn't it more commonly referred to as "Fixed Income"? Then "Fixed Income" could refer to Bonds, High Yield Bonds and Real Return Bonds. Until such time as want to clean-up the structure, I'm in agreement with Shakespeare to leave the existing title as is. --Peculiar Investor 19:01, 23 January 2012 (MST)

[quote]A measure of the long-run average inflation expectations of market participants can be derived by comparing the yields on conventional long-term Government of Canada bonds with those on Real Return Bonds.[/quote] If that is the terminology the BoC uses, that is what we will continue to use.--Shakespeare 19:04, 23 January 2012 (MST)
 * Further to nomenclature: http://www.bankofcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/r963b.pdf refers to "conventional bonds" versus RRBs:


 * I think it's a matter of choosing the terminology most recognized by new investors. New investors know what a "bond" is, but not the "nominal" or "conventional" classifications. The pages then educate the investor to the appropriate usage. I updated the Nominal bond - Bogleheads page to include "conventional" bonds.


 * My original question was intended to ensure that there weren't any other distinctions aside from the name.


 * --LadyGeek 20:30, 23 January 2012 (MST)

Reader feedback: This page is great for inves...
67.68.126.196 posted this comment on 18 December 2013 (view all feedback).

This page is great for investors wanting to learn about individual bonds. But a bond ladder (or other strategies w/ individual bonds) is not practical for small investors with, say, less than $50-100k in bonds. During the accumulation phase, ETFs are a great solution. But this page and the ETF page provide no guidance about which bond ETFs to buy and why. That would be very helpful for small investors, especially since so many bond ETFs are now available. I would personally recommend VSB and/or VAB to keep things simple (broad, low cost, reliable provider). Thanks, - Quebec from the forum.

Any thoughts?

Peculiar Investor 20:59, 18 December 2013 (MST) Your feedback has given me reason to review the whole article and I've reworked it so that I believe it flows better. To address you feedback, I've added a section Buying bonds. Wiki articles are intended to maintain a neutral point of view, so making specific recommendations such as VSB or VAB generally are not included.