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Smart Bond Investing
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Bond Fact The U.S. bond market is almost twice the size of the combined market capitalization of all U.S. stock markets. |
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Bonds are issued to raise money for cities, states, the federal government and corporations. The primary and secondary bond markets are an essential part of the capital-raising process. The public and private sectors use the vast sums of money raised to do all sorts of things—build roads, improve schools, open new factories and buy the latest technology.
Bonds are bought and sold in huge quantities in the U.S. and around the world. Some bonds are easier to buy and sell than others—but that doesn't stop investors from trading all kinds of bonds virtually every second of every trading day. To understand the process of buying and selling, it is first helpful to understand the size and scope of the bond market, why bonds are issued in the first place, and who regulates this vast financial arena.
Bonds are big players on the global financial stage. U.S. bond market debt (generally referred to as "the bond market") exceeds $27 trillion—making it by far the largest securities marketplace in the world. The term "bond market" is a bit misleading, because each type of bond has its own market and trading systems.
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