At a brokerage, you'll see the market value of the bond each time you log in, though you'll get the principal back at maturity.
I think I just want to use individual bonds (held to maturity) along with TRAD and iBOnds and call it a day. I'm realizing I like the fact that my fixed income doesn't go down.
I don't mind buying at auction at a brokerage, though you'll want to pay attention to the opening and auction date. One downside is that some brokerages will make funds unavailable between auction and settlement. With TreasuryDirect, the funds aren't debited from your account until the settlement day.I'm following the other thread "Trading Treasury's". I will look more into Vanguard's website. I am starting to see what you are getting at. While I intend to hold to maturity, you aren't able to sell if you need to. I wasn't aware that you can buy from the same newly issued bonds, I thought it was only secondary market stuff.
Most major brokerages only support increments of $1000, so you wouldn't be able to transfer smaller increments to a brokerage from TD.One thing I like about Treasury Direct is that you can buy in increments as little as $100. With Vanguard I believe it's $1000.
I'll take a look at that other thread more closely. Thanks for the idea.
You could try out buying 4,8 or 13 week bills at TD or a major brokerage to see how it works, since they are all auctioned weekly. It's a bit harder at brokerages since you need to place the order during certain days of the week.
For coupon Treasuries, I'd probably prefer Vanguard or Fidelity over Schwab to hold them since they have better settlement fund options. At Schwab, I plan to purchase coupon Treasuries with maturities during two particular months, so I only need to remember to deal with the coupons twice a year.
Statistics: Posted by Lyrrad — Fri Nov 08, 2024 1:28 am