Definition of Yield

Yield

The percentage rate of return paid on a stock in the form of dividends, or the effective rate of interest
paid on a bond or note.

yield

the quantity of output that results from a specified input

Yield

a. Measure of return on an investment, stated as a percentage of price.
yield can be computed by dividing return by purchase price, current market
value, or other measure of value.
b. Income from a bond expressed as an
annualized percentage rate.
c. The nominal annual interest rate that gives a
future value of the purchase price equal to the redemption value of the security.
Any coupon payments determine part of that yield.

Yield

The interest rate that makes the present value of a stream of future payments associated with an asset equal to the current price of that asset. Also called yield to maturity. See also current yield.

Annual percentage yield (APY)

The effective, or true, annual rate of return. The APY is the rate actually
earned or paid in one year, taking into account the affect of compounding. The APY is calculated by taking
one plus the periodic rate and raising it to the number of periods in a year. For example, a 1% per month rate
has an APY of 12.68% (1.01^12).

Bond equivalent yield

Bond yield calculated on an annual percentage rate method. Differs from annual
effective yield.

Bond-equivalent yield

The annualized yield to maturity computed by doubling the semiannual yield.

Capital gains yield

The price change portion of a stock's return.

Convenience yield

The extra advantage that firms derive from holding the commodity rather than the future.

Coupon equivalent yield

True interest cost expressed on the basis of a 365-day year.

Current yield

For bonds or notes, the coupon rate divided by the market price of the bond.

Dividend yield (Funds)

Indicated yield represents return on a share of a mutual fund held over the past 12
months. Assumes fund was purchased 1 year ago. Reflects effect of sales charges (at current rates), but not
redemption charges.

Dividend yield (Stocks)

Indicated yield represents annual dividends divided by current stock price.

Earnings yield

The ratio of earnings per share after allowing for tax and interest payments on fixed interest
debt, to the current share price. The inverse of the price/earnings ratio. It's the Total Twelve Months earnings
divided by number of outstanding shares, divided by the recent price, multiplied by 100. The end result is
shown in percentage.

Effective annual yield

Annualized interest rate on a security computed using compound interest techniques.

Equivalent bond yield

Annual yield on a short-term, non-interest bearing security calculated so as to be
comparable to yields quoted on coupon securities.

Equivalent taxable yield

The yield that must be offered on a taxable bond issue to give the same after-tax
yield as a tax-exempt issue.

Flattening of the yield curve

A change in the yield curve where the spread between the yield on a long-term
and short-term Treasury has decreased. Compare steepening of the yield curve and butterfly shift.

High-yield bond

See:junk bond.

Indicated yield

The yield, based on the most recent quarterly rate times four. To determine the yield, divide
the annual dividend by the price of the stock. The resulting number is represented as a percentage. See:
dividend yield.

Liquid yield option note (LYON)

Zero-coupon, callable, putable, convertible bond invented by Merrill

Liquid yield option note (LYON)

Zero-coupon, callable, putable, convertible bond invented by Merrill Lynch & Co.

Non-parallel shift in the yield curve

A shift in the yield curve in which yields do not change by the same
number of basis points for every maturity. Related: Parallel shift in the yield curve.

Parallel shift in the yield curve

A shift in the yield curve in which the change in the yield on all maturities is
the same number of basis points. In other words, if the 3 month T-bill increases 100 basis points (one
percent), then the 6 month, 1 year, 5 year, 10 year, 20 year, and 30 year rates increase by 100 basis points as
well.
Related: Non-parallel shift in the yield curve.

Pure yield pickup swap

Moving to higher yield bonds.

Realized compound yield

yield assuming that coupon payments are invested at the going market interest
rate at the time of their receipt and rolled over until the bond matures.

Relative yield spread

The ratio of the yield spread to the yield level.

Reoffering yield

In a purchase and sale, the yield to maturity at which the underwriter offers to sell the bonds
to investors.

Required yield

Generally referring to bonds, the yield required by the marketplace to match available returns
for financial instruments with comparable risk.

Riding the yield curve

Buying long-term bonds in anticipation of capital gains as yields fall with the
declining maturity of the bonds.

Steepening of the yield curve

A change in the yield curve where the spread between the yield on a long-term
and short-term Treasury has increased. Compare flattening of the yield curve and butterfly shift.

Weighted average portfolio yield

The weighted average of the yield of all the bonds in a portfolio.

Yield curve

The graphical depiction of the relationship between the yield on bonds of the same credit quality
but different maturities. Related: Term structure of interest rates. Harvey (1991) finds that the inversions of
the yield curve (short-term rates greater than long term rates) have preceded the last five U.S. recessions. The
yield curve can accurately forecast the turning points of the business cycle.

Yield curve option-pricing models

Models that can incorporate different volatility assumptions along the
yield curve, such as the Black-Derman-Toy model. Also called arbitrage-free option-pricing models.

Yield curve strategies

Positioning a portfolio to capitalize on expected changes in the shape of the Treasury yield curve.

Yield ratio

The quotient of two bond yields.

Yield spread strategies

Strategies that involve positioning a portfolio to capitalize on expected changes in
yield spreads between sectors of the bond market.

Yield to call

The percentage rate of a bond or note, if you were to buy and hold the security until the call date.
This yield is valid only if the security is called prior to maturity. Generally bonds are callable over several
years and normally are called at a slight premium. The calculation of yield to call is based on the coupon rate,
length of time to the call and the market price.

Yield to maturity

The percentage rate of return paid on a bond, note or other fixed income security if you
buy and hold it to its maturity date. The calculation for YTM is based on the coupon rate, length of time to
maturity and market price. It assumes that coupon interest paid over the life of the bond will be reinvested at
the same rate.

Yield to worst

The bond yield computed by using the lower of either the yield to maturity or the yield to call
on every possible call date.

dividend yield ratio

Cash dividends paid by a business over the most
recent 12 months (called the trailing 12 months) divided by the current
market price per share of the stock. This ratio is reported in the daily
stock trading tables in the Wall Street Journal and other major newspapers.

Bond Equivalent Yield

Bond yield calculated on an annual percentage rate method

Effective Annual Yield

Annualized rate of return on a security computed using compound
interest techniques

Yield Curve

A graphical representation of the level of interest rates for
securities of differing maturities at a specific point of time

Yield to Maturity

The measure of the average rate of return that will be earned on a
debt security held until it matures

labor yield variance

(standard mix X actual hours X standard rate) - (standard mix X standard hours X standard rate);
it shows the monetary impact of using more or fewer total hours than the standard allowed

material yield variance

(standard mix X actual quantity X standard price) - (standard mix X standard quantity X standard price);
it computes the difference between the
actual total quantity of input and the standard total quantity
allowed based on output and uses standard mix and
standard prices to determine variance

process quality yield

the proportion of good units that resulted from the activities expended

yield ratio

the expected or actual relationship between input and output

Par yield curve

The yield curve of bonds selling at par, or face, value.

Spot curve, spot yield curve

See Zero curve.

Yield curve

Graph of yields (vertical axis) of a particular type of security
versus the time to maturity (horizontal axis). This curve usually slopes
upward, indicating that investors usually expect to receive a premium for
securities that have a longer time to maturity. The benchmark yield curve is
for U.S. Treasury securities with maturities ranging from three months to 30
years. See Term structure.

Yield to maturity

A measure of the average rate of return that will be earned
on a bond if held to maturity.

Zero curve, zero-coupon yield curve

A yield curve for zero-coupon bonds;
zero rates versus maturity dates. Since the maturity and duration (Macaulay
duration) are identical for zeros, the zero curve is a pure depiction of supply/
demand conditions for loanable funds across a continuum of durations and
maturities. Also known as spot curve or spot yield curve.

Production yield variance

The difference between the actual and budgeted proportions
of product resulting from a production process, multiplied by the standard unit cost.

current yield

Annual coupon payments divided by bond price.

yield curve

Graph of the relationship between time to maturity and yield to maturity.

yield to maturity

Interest rate for which the present value of the bond’s payments equals the price.

Current Yield

The percentage return on a financial asset based on the current price of the asset, without reference to any expected change in the price of the asset. This contrasts with yield-to-maturity, for which the calculation includes expected price changes. See also yield.

Yield curve

A graph showing how the yield on bonds varies with time to maturity.

Arbitrage-free option-pricing models

yield curve option-pricing models.

Attribute bias

The tendency of stocks preferred by the dividend discount model to share certain equity
attributes such as low price-earnings ratios, high dividend yield, high book-value ratio or membership in a
particular industry sector.

Back-up

1) When bond yields and prices fall, the market is said to back-up.
2) When an investor swaps out of one security into another of shorter current maturity he is said to back up.

Bank discount basis

A convention used for quoting bids and offers for treasury bills in terms of annualized
yield , based on a 360-day year.

Basis point

In the bond market, the smallest measure used for quoting yields is a basis point. Each percentage
point of yield in bonds equals 100 basis points. Basis points also are used for interest rates. An interest rate of
5% is 50 basis points greater than an interest rate of 4.5%.

Basis price

Price expressed in terms of yield to maturity or annual rate of return.

Benchmark interest rate

Also called the base interest rate, it is the minimum interest rate investors will
demand for investing in a non-Treasury security. It is also tied to the yield to maturity offered on a
comparable-maturity Treasury security that was most recently issued ("on-the-run").

Bond-equivalent basis

The method used for computing the bond-equivalent yield.

Bootstrapping

A process of creating a theoretical spot rate curve , using one yield projection as the basis for
the yield of the next maturity.

Bullet strategy

A strategy in which a portfolio is constructed so that the maturities of its securities are highly
concentrated at one point on the yield curve.

Butterfly shift

A non-parallel shift in the yield curve involving the height of the curve.

Contract month

The month in which futures contracts may be satisfied by making or accepting a delivery.
Also called value managers, those who assemble portfolios with relatively lower betas, lower price-book and
P/E ratios and higher dividend yields, seeing value where others do not.

Convex

Bowed, as in the shape of a curve. Usually referring to the price/required yield relationship for
option-free bonds.

Corporate taxable equivalent

Rate of return required on a par bond to produce the same after-tax yield to
maturity that the premium or discount bond quoted would.

Current coupon

A bond selling at or close to par, that is, a bond with a coupon close to the yields currently
offered on new bonds of a similar maturity and credit risk.

Default premium

A differential in promised yield that compensates the investor for the risk inherent in
purchasing a corporate bond that entails some risk of default.

Dividend

A dividend is a portion of a company's profit paid to common and preferred shareholders. A stock
selling for $20 a share with an annual dividend of $1 a share yields the investor 5%.

Effective convexity

The convexity of a bond calculated with cash flows that change with yields.

Figuring the tail

Calculating the yield at which a future money market (one available some period hence) is
purchased when that future security is created by buying an existing instrument and financing the initial
portion of its life with a term repo.

Floating-rate contract

A guaranteed investment contract where the credit rating is tied to some variable
("floating") interest rate benchmark, such as a specific-maturity Treasury yield.

Forward rate

A projection of future interest rates calculated from either the spot rates or the yield curve.

Give up

The loss in yield that occurs when a block of bonds is swapped for another block of lower-coupon
bonds. Can also be referred to as "after-tax give up" when the implications of the profit or loss on taxes are
considered.

Income stock

Common stock with a high dividend yield and few profitable investment opportunities.

Investment grade bonds

A bond that is assigned a rating in the top four categories by commercial credit
rating companies. For example, S&P classifies investment grade bonds as BBB or higher, and Moodys'
classifies investment grade bonds as Ba or higher. Related: High-yield bond.

Junk bond

A bond with a speculative credit rating of BB (S&P) or Ba (Moody's) or lower is a junk or high
yield bond. Such bonds offer investors higher yields than bonds of financially sound companies. Two
agencies, Standard & Poors and Moody's investor Services, provide the rating systems for companies' credit.

Leveraged buyout (LBO)

A transaction used for taking a public corporation private financed through the use
of debt funds: bank loans and bonds. Because of the large amount of debt relative to equity in the new
corporation, the bonds are typically rated below investment grade, properly referred to as high-yield bonds or
junk bonds. Investors can participate in an LBO through either the purchase of the debt (i.e., purchase of the
bonds or participation in the bank loan) or the purchase of equity through an LBO fund that specializes in
such investments.

Market segmentation theory or preferred habitat theory

A biased expectations theory that asserts that the
shape of the yield curve is determined by the supply of and demand for securities within each maturity sector.

Modified duration

The ratio of Macaulay duration to (1 + y), where y = the bond yield. Modified duration is
inversely related to the approximate percentage change in price for a given change in yield.

Negative convexity

A bond characteristic such that the price appreciation will be less than the price
depreciation for a large change in yield of a given number of basis points.

Net financing cost

Also called the cost of carry or, simply, carry, the difference between the cost of financing
the purchase of an asset and the asset's cash yield. Positive carry means that the yield earned is greater than
the financing cost; negative carry means that the financing cost exceeds the yield earned.

Optimization approach to indexing

An approach to indexing which seeks to Optimize some objective, such
as to maximize the portfolio yield, to maximize convexity, or to maximize expected total returns.

Option-adjusted spread (OAS)

1) The spread over an issuer's spot rate curve, developed as a measure of
the yield spread that can be used to convert dollar differences between theoretical value and market price.
2) The cost of the implied call embedded in a MBS, defined as additional basis-yield spread. When added to the
base yield spread of an MBS without an operative call produces the option-adjusted spread.

Pickup

The gain in yield that occurs when a block of bonds is swapped for another block of higher-coupon bonds.

Price value of a basis point (PVBP)

Also called the dollar value of a basis point, a measure of the change in
the price of the bond if the required yield changes by one basis point.

Quality spread

Also called credit spread, the spread between Treasury securities and non-Treasury securities
that are identical in all respects except for quality rating. For instance, the difference between yields on
Treasuries and those on single A-rated industrial bonds.

Riskless arbitrage

The simultaneous purchase and sale of the same asset to yield a profit.

Scenario analysis

The use of horizon analysis to project bond total returns under different reinvestment rates
and future market yields.

Spot rate

The theoretical yield on a zero-coupon Treasury security.

Spread

1) The gap between bid and ask prices of a stock or other security.
2) The simultaneous purchase and sale of separate futures or options contracts for the same commodity for delivery in different months.
Also known as a straddle.
3) Difference between the price at which an underwriter buys an issue from a firm
and the price at which the underwriter sells it to the public.
4) The price an issuer pays above a benchmark fixed-income yield to borrow money.

Substitution swap

A swap in which a money manager exchanges one bond for another bond that is similar in
terms of coupon, maturity, and credit quality, but offers a higher yield.

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