How to buy us 10 year treasury bonds

U.S. 10 Year Treasury US10Y:Tradeweb

Table of Contents Show

U.S. 10 Year Treasury US10Y:Tradeweb
Structure: Coupon or no coupon/discount
Yotta - Buy US I-Bonds
Buying from the US Treasury
Buying through a broker or bank
What to consider before buying treasury bonds
1. Liquidity
2. Risk vs. return
3. Taxation
The bottom line
Where can I buy a 10 year US Treasury?
How do you buy a US 10 year bond?
Why would anyone buy a 10 year Treasury bond?
How do I buy a US Treasury bond?

Yield | 4:06 AM EST

3.795%

-0.032

Yield Open3.832%
Yield Day High3.832%
Yield Day Low3.793%
Yield Prev Close3.827%
Price102.7188
Price Change+0.2656
Price Change %+0.2617%
Price Prev Close102.4531

Key Stats

Price Day High102.7344
Price Day Low102.4062
Coupon4.125%
Maturity2032-11-15

KEY STATS

Yield Open3.832%
Yield Day High3.832%
Yield Day Low3.793%
Yield Prev Close3.827%
Price102.7188
Price Change+0.2656
Price Change %+0.2617%
Price Prev Close102.4531
Price Day High102.7344
Price Day Low102.4062
Coupon4.125%
Maturity2032-11-15

There is no recent news for this security.

Newly issued Treasuries can be purchased at auctions held by the government, while previously issued bonds can be purchased on the secondary market. Both types of orders can be placed through Fidelity.*

Treasury	Minimum denomination	Sold at	Maturity	Interest payments
US Treasury bills	$1,000	Discount	4-, 8- , 13-, 17-, 26-, and 52-week	Interest and principal paid at maturity
US Treasury notes	$1,000	Coupon	2-, 3-, 5-, 7-, and 10-year	Interest paid semi-annually, principal at maturity
US Treasury bonds	$1,000	Coupon	20-year 30-year	Interest paid semi-annually, principal at maturity
Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS)	$1,000	Coupon	5-, 10-, and 30-year	Interest paid semi-annually, principal redeemed at the greater of their inflation-adjusted principal amount or the original principal amount
US Treasury floating rate notes (FRNs)	$1,000	Coupon	2 years	Interest paid quarterly based on discount rates for 13-week treasury bills, principal at maturity
Treasury STRIPS	$1,000	Discount	6 months to 30 years	Interest and principal paid at maturity

Structure: Coupon or no coupon/discount

Investors in Treasury notes (which have shorter-term maturities, from 1 to 10 years) and Treasury bonds (which have maturities of up to 30 years) receive interest payments, known as coupons, on their investment. The coupon rate is fixed at the time of issuance and is paid every six months.

Other Treasury securities, such as Treasury bills (which have maturities of one year or less) or zero-coupon bonds, do not pay a regular coupon. Instead, they are sold at a discount to their face (or par) value; investors receive the full face value at maturity. These securities are known as Original Issue Discount (OID) bonds, since the difference between the discounted price at issuance and the face value at maturity represents the total interest paid in one lump sum.

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Treasury bonds, or Treasuries, are debt securities issued by the US government.
Treasury bonds can be bought directly from the government's TreasuryDirect.gov website or through a brokerage or bank.
Treasury bonds are prized by income-seeking investors because they are low-risk and highly liquid; however, they don't pay the highest interest rates.

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When you're in need of funds, you take out a loan — that's what many people do and the US government is no exception to that.

In order to fund its operations and pay its bills, the federal government borrows money by selling bonds to investors. Issued through the Department of the Treasury, these bonds are known as Treasury securities or Treasuries for short. Like all bonds, they are debt securities that represent an obligation: They repay the investor's principal after a certain amount of time, along with interest along the way.

Treasury bonds are particularly popular among income-seeking investors because they are backed "by the full faith and credit" of the US Treasury — and by extension, the US government itself.

In particular, these securities are a good match for investors who are especially risk-averse or who are looking for a reliable source of income. Compared to other investments, Treasuries rarely pay the highest rates — they often lag high-quality corporate bonds by two percentage points, for example — but they pay. The US government has never defaulted on a debt.

Annual Percentage Yield (APY)

9.62% Interest Rate guaranteed for 6 months, when purchased by 10/31/22

Minimum Deposit Amount

Annual Percentage Yield (APY)

9.62% Interest Rate guaranteed for 6 months, when purchased by 10/31/22

Minimum Deposit Amount

Yotta - Buy US I-Bonds

Details

Annual Percentage Yield (APY)

9.62% Interest Rate guaranteed for 6 months, when purchased by 10/31/22

I-Bonds are backed by the US Government, so you're guaranteed a 9.62% Interest Rate on up to $10,000. The Interest Rate on I-Bonds is adjusted every 6 months. The current rate is 9.62%. I-Bonds purchased now through October 2022 will have a 9.62% Interest Rate guaranteed for 6 months. Future changes in rates are not disclosed by the US Treasury.

Minimum Deposit Amount

Pros & Cons

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Zero I-Bond forms, zero stress

Dash iconA dash. It often indicates an interaction to shrink a section.

Savings account earnings are not as straight forward as other high-yield savings accounts

Highlights

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With Yotta I-Bonds Bucket, you don't have to deal with www.treasurydirect.gov and their forms. Just transfer money to your I-Bonds Bucket, and Yotta will do the rest.
I-Bonds are backed by the US Government, so you're guaranteed a 9.62% Interest Rate on up to $10,000. The Interest Rate on I-Bonds is adjusted every 6 months.
I-Bonds purchased now through October 2022 will have a 9.62% Interest Rate guaranteed for 6 months. Future changes in rates are not disclosed by the US Treasury.

Basically, there are two ways to buy Treasuries: new and used.

Buying from the US Treasury

If you're looking to buy newly issued T-bills, T-notes, or T-bonds, you can go straight to the source. The US Treasury allows individuals to invest through its Treasury Direct website. You don't need to be an accredited investor to do this; you don't even need to be a US citizen. However, you will need a US tax identification number — usually, it's your Social Security number — and email address to set up an account. You also need to have access to a bank account in order to fund your purchases.

Treasuries are sold via online auctions:

T-bill auctions are held weekly
T-note auctions are held monthly
T-bond auctions are held four times a year: on the first Wednesday of February, May, August, and November.

At the auction, there are two ways to place a bid:

Non-competitive bidding: If you're not an expert in securities trading, non-competitive bidding is probably the easiest way for you to buy a bond on your own. In this case, when you make a bid, you agree to accept whatever interest rate is decided at the auction. In return, though, you are guaranteed that your bid will be accepted and that you will be paid face value upon maturity.
Competitive bidding: In competitive bidding, on the other hand, you specify the interest rate that you want to receive from the Treasury. But this method is more complicated because unless you're familiar with the supply and demand of the securities market, you likely won't know if your bid will be accepted. Here, your bid will only be accepted if it is less than or equal to the rate set by the auction.

The minimum requirement for buying a Treasury is usually $100 and goes up from there in increments of $100.

While a typical lot size for Treasuries is either $100,000 or $1 million, you can, of course, invest less than that. However, the maximum you can invest is $5 million.

Buying through a broker or bank

It's also possible to invest in Treasury securities through a financial institution, like a brokerage or bank. It's probably the easiest method since the broker will watch the US Treasury Department auctions and place your bid for you. However, depending on the institution, you may be charged a fee to place the bid.

The auctions, and TreasuryDirect, only offer new issues. So if you want to buy an older T-bill, note, or bond, you have to get one that's already trading on the secondary market (the major stock exchanges). You will need to buy through a brokerage or financial services company, or an online trading platform. Commission charges may apply.

You'll also need a brokerage or investment company to purchase a Treasury bond mutual fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF). The big advantage of choosing a fund, as opposed to the securities themselves, is that you can buy fund shares for a fraction of the bonds' price. And of course, with these funds — which own a basket of various T-bills, notes, and bonds — you get immediate diversification for the income portion of your portfolio.

What to consider before buying treasury bonds

1. Liquidity

The maturity date of the Treasuries that you invest in will determine how liquid (easily sellable) your investment will be. Treasury bills, which have maturities of a year or less, are going to be the most liquid option while 30-year bonds will give you the least liquidity.

That said, within the investment universe, Treasuries are pretty liquid animals: There's always a market for US government bonds. So you can always unload them pretty fast, though as mentioned earlier, the exact price they'll fetch depends on their coupon rate, compared to prevailing interest rates.

2. Risk vs. return

While no investment is 100% safe, Treasuries have a negligible level of risk. Since these securities are backed by the United States government, there's virtually no chance that you won't see a return on your investment. Despite ongoing concerns about the budget and deficits, the US has never defaulted on an obligation, in its entire history.

With that in mind, because there is less risk involved, the return you will receive is often not as great as with other income-oriented securities. The 30-year T-bond will generally pay a higher interest rate than shorter T-notes, to compensate for the additional risks inherent in the longer maturity.

3. Taxation

While you will have to pay federal income tax on them, Treasuries' interest is exempt from state and local taxes. This can be a benefit for investors living in high-tax jurisdictions.

You only pay taxes on the interest your T-bonds earn. When your bond matures, you don't owe anything, since it's just repayment of your own money. But if you sell a bond before it matures, it counts as a capital gain or loss, depending on whether you make a profit or not.

The bottom line

Treasury bonds, T-bills, and T-notes are the closest thing to a risk-free instrument out there. Their reliability makes them ideal for older investors dependent on investment income, or highly conservative ones who never want to risk their principal.

Since they don't offer growth or the sexiest returns, Treasuries usually don't play as big a role with younger investors. Still, they can be a great way to diversify anyone's financial holdings — balancing out that highly speculative stock, for example. By being folded into the asset mix, they can effectively reduce the overall risk of your portfolio.

Jasmine Suarez

Senior Editor, Personal Finance Insider

Jasmine was a senior editor at Insider where she led a team at Personal Finance Insider, focusing on explainers, how-tos, and rounds-ups meant to help readers better understand personal finance, investing, and the economy. Her team tackled projects including: • Women of Means, a series about women taking control of their finances. • Better, Smarter, Faster, a series that reveals the impactful choices you can make with your money to set yourself up to pursue your passions and fulfill big life goals. • Master Your Money, a yearlong guide for millennials on how to take control of their finances. • Rethinking Retirement, an editorial collection with stories that will inspire and provide the foundation for planning a different type of future than the 9-5 life allows. • The Road to Home, a comprehensive guide to buying your first house. She also worked cross-functionally with the video team at Insider to develop and build PFI's YouTube channel. Before joining Insider, she was a senior editor at NextAdvisor, Time magazine's personal-finance brand launched in partnership with Red Ventures. Before that, she was an editor at Credit Karma.

Where can I buy a 10 year US Treasury?

You can buy short-term Treasury bills on TreasuryDirect, the U.S. government's portal for buying U.S. Treasuries. Short-term Treasury bills can also be bought and sold through a bank or broker. If you do not hold your Treasuries until maturity, the only way to sell them is through a bank or broker.

How do you buy a US 10 year bond?

You can buy Treasury bonds from us in TreasuryDirect. You also can buy them through a bank or broker. (We no longer sell bonds in Legacy Treasury Direct, which we are phasing out.) You can hold a bond until it matures or sell it before it matures.

Why would anyone buy a 10 year Treasury bond?

The importance of the 10-year Treasury bond yield goes beyond just understanding the return on investment for the security. The 10-year is used as a proxy for many other important financial matters, such as mortgage rates. This bond also tends to signal investor confidence.