How much is the initial investment to purchase bonds??

Hi Terence,

There are generally 5 types of bonds that you can purchase

1. Retail Fixed Income - These require $1K generally, plus brokerage. This is what you are probably looking at.

2. Wholesale Fixed Income - That's $250K minimum.

3. Bond ETFs - ETFs that attempt to replicate returns of a bond index

4. Bond Funds - Funds which buy into wholesale fixed income or similar

5. SSB - I believe you don't need an introduction to this

The major problem with (1) is the liquidity and selection. You are at the mercy of the market, and if there is no one willing to sell, you won't be able to buy. The reverse is also true. There are also less than 20 bonds available for purchase, and not all are necessarily good. Contrast this with (2) where there are literally hundreds of corporates available for purchase.

Https://secure.fundsupermart.com/fsm/bonds/bond...

Or u want to consider bond etf for diversification.

OPINON: very safe bond normally 2 -3%. Return not that great. If you are able to accept the volitality 100% equity is better.