Sign In

 Content Editor


Financial Term of the week- Coupon Rate

When a company needs capital to, say, expand its business, it can either sell its own shares to the public and raise money; or it can issue bonds. If you have purchased a bond from a company, that means you are the lender, and the company has borrowed the money from you. Now, what’s in it for you? When you purchase a bond from a company, it comes with a commitment of a fixed interest rate that will be paid to you annually/semi-annually or at maturity. This is your earning in this transaction. This interest is called the coupon rate and is expressed as a percentage of the face value of the bond.

When a company issues a bond, it specifies certain things clearly, out of which the three important ones are-

  1. Face value
  2. Coupon rate
  3. Maturity

If you buy 100 bonds of a company at Rs 200 per bond, then Rs 200 is the face value, and your principal amount of investment is Rs 20,000. If the company has declared interest of 10% annually, then this becomes the coupon rate. This means that 10% of Rs 20000, i.e. Rs 2000, is the amount you will earn annually. Further, if the maturity of the bond is 5 years, this would mean that you will get Rs 2000 per year for 5 years and at the end of 5 years, you will get your principal amount of Rs 20,000 back.

Please note that apart from various companies, the Government can also issue bonds to the public at large in order to raise capital.

What are zero-coupon bonds?

Now, it is not always necessary that the company issuing the bond will pay an annual interest to the investor. Zero-coupon bonds or discount bonds are the ones that do not provide any annual interest to the bondholder till the maturity. Instead, they get a discount on the face value at the time of buying. Their profit comes from the difference between their buying price and the actual face value of the bond that is returned to them at maturity.

What should debt mutual fund investors know about coupon rates?

Debt mutual funds invest in bonds from various companies and actively manage the portfolio of these bonds. What you, as a debt fund investor, must know is the difference between the coupon rate and yield of the fund. Yields can be measured in multiple ways, out of which 3 most common measures are-

Coupon Rates - Nippon India Mutual Fund

If there are no changes in the market price of the bonds, interest rates or other external factors that affect a bond’s price, the coupon rate and the current yield will be the same as the YTM. Having said that, the face value of the bond in the above example is Rs 200, but the market price of the bond may fluctuate because of rise and fall of the interest rates in the economy, credit risks, demand for the bond, etc.

Hence, the current yield is the return at any given time, basis the prevailing market price of the bond. When a bond is purchased at face value, the current yield is the same as the coupon rate, which in turn is the same as the YTM. But as the market conditions change, the three begin to differ. Let us understand with an example.

If a bond has a face value of Rs 1000 and a coupon rate of 6%, this means that if you buy this and hold it till maturity, you will get Rs 60 per year. Here, 6% is the coupon rate. This is true if you buy the bond at face value. Now, what if you buy it at a discount, i.e. Rs 950? In this case the yield becomes, Rs 60/Rs 950= 6.31%. Now, this 6.31% is the current yield of the bond and depends on the market value of the bond at which it is being traded. Yield to Maturity (YTM) is the interest rate derived on the summation of the annual yields and the yields generated because of discounted buying of bonds. You can read more about it here.

In conclusion-

If you are a long-term investor in a debt fund who does not wish to trade his/her bonds before maturity, you can only keep your concern limited to the coupon rates because that is what you are going to earn till maturity. But if you are not a long-term investor, then the market yield may affect the returns.


​​

Disclaimer:
This is an investor education and awareness initiative by Nippon India Mutual Fund.
Helpful information for investors: All Mutual Fund investors have to go through a one-time KYC (know your Customer) process. Investors should deal only with registered mutual funds, to be verified on SEBI website under 'Intermediaries/ Market Infrastructure Institutions'. For redressal of your complaints, you may please visit www.scores.gov.in . For more info on KYC, change in various details & redressal of complaints, visit mf.nipponindiaim.com/investoreducation/what-to-know-when-investing This is an investor education and awareness initiative by Nippon India Mutual Fund.

The information herein is meant only for general reading purposes and the views being expressed only constitute opinions and therefore cannot be considered as guidelines, recommendations or as a professional guide for the readers. The document has been prepared on the basis of publicly available information, internally developed data and other sources believed to be reliable. The sponsor, the Investment Manager, the Trustee or any of their directors, employees, associates or representatives (“entities & their associates”) do not assume any responsibility for, or warrant the accuracy, completeness, adequacy and reliability of such information. Recipients of this information are advised to rely on their own analysis, interpretations & investigations. Readers are also advised to seek independent professional advice in order to arrive at an informed investment decision. Entities & their associates including persons involved in the preparation or issuance of this material shall not be liable in any way for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, consequential, punitive or exemplary damages, including on account of lost profits arising from the information contained in this material. Recipient alone shall be fully responsible for any decision taken on the basis of this document.
Language Disclaimer:
While utmost care has been taken in translating the article into respective regional language(s), in case of any confusion or difference of opinion, article available in English language should be deemed as final. The article provided herein is meant only for general reading purposes and the views being expressed only constitute opinions and therefore cannot be considered as guidelines, recommendations or as a professional advice for the readers. The document has been prepared on the basis of publicly available data/ information, internally developed data and other sources believed to be reliable. The sponsor, the Investment Manager, the Trustee or any of their directors, employees, associates or representatives (“entities & their associates”) do not assume any responsibility for, or warrant the accuracy, completeness, adequacy and reliability of such information. Recipients of this information are advised to rely on their own analysis, interpretations & investigations. Readers are also advised to seek independent professional advice in order to arrive at an informed investment decision. Entities & their associates including persons involved in the preparation or issuance of this material shall not be liable in any way for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, consequential, punitive or exemplary damages, including on account of loss of profits arising from the information contained in this material. Recipient alone shall be fully responsible for any decision taken on the basis of this article.
"ABOVE ILLUSTRATIONS ARE ONLY FOR UNDERSTANDING, IT IS NOT DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY RELATED TO THE PERFORMANCE OF ANY SCHEME OF NIMF. THE VIEWS EXPRESSED HEREIN CONSTITUTE ONLY THE OPINIONS AND DO NOT CONSTITUTE ANY GUIDELINES OR RECOMMENDATION ON ANY COURSE OF ACTION TO BE FOLLOWED BY THE READER. THIS INFORMATION IS MEANT FOR GENERAL READING PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT MEANT TO SERVE AS A PROFESSIONAL GUIDE FOR THE READERS."

MUTUAL FUND INVESTMENTS ARE SUBJECT TO MARKET RISKS, READ ALL SCHEME RELATED DOCUMENTS CAREFULLY.
Top