Written, signed, unconditional, and unsecured promise by one party (the maker or promisor) to another (the payee or promisee) that commits the maker to pay a specified sum on demand, or on a fixed or a determinable date. Promissory notes (such as bank or currency notes) are negotiable instruments.
Advanced Bond Concepts: Duration. The term duration has a special meaning in the context of bonds. It is a measurement of how long, in years, it takes for the price of a bond to be repaid by its internal cash flows. It is an important measure for investors to consider, as bonds with higher durations carry more risk and have higher price volatility than bonds with lower durations.
Short Term Bond Vs. Bond funds are mutual funds that hold a variety of debt instruments issued by governments, corporations or investment firms. Bond terms vary in length from a few months to 30 years. Short-term bond funds largely contain bonds with a duration of 24 months or less. Intermediate bonds funds contain bonds with an average duration of between two and 10 years.