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Dec 11, Zero coupon bonds are bonds that do not make any interest payments until maturity, you won't put a single penny of interest in your pocket for. STRIPS are called “zero-coupon” securities. bond or a Treasury inflation- protected security (TIPS) is stripped through the commercial book-entry system each.
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Federal agencies, municipalities, financial institutions and corporations issue zero-coupon bonds. A financial institution, government securities broker or government securities dealer can convert an eligible Treasury security into a STRIP bond. As the name implies, the interest is stripped from the bond.
A nice feature of STRIPS is that they are non-callable, meaning they can't be called to be redeemed should interest rates fall. This feature offers protection from the risk that you will have to settle for a lower rate of return if your bond is called, you receive cash, and you need to reinvest it this is known as reinvestment risk.
That said, zero-coupon bonds carry various types of risk. Like virtually all bonds, zero-coupon bonds are subject to interest-rate risk if you sell before maturity.
If interest rates rise, the value of your zero-coupon bond on the secondary market will likely fall. Long-term zeros can be particularly sensitive to changes in interest rates, exposing them to what is known as duration risk. Also, zeros may not keep pace with inflation.
Message Optional. Zero-coupon bonds are also appealing for investors who wish to pass wealth on to their heirs but are concerned about income tax or gift taxes. Also, zeros may not keep pace with inflation. Banks and banking Finance corporate personal public. In Canada, investors may purchase packages of strip bonds, so that the cash flows are tailored to meet their needs in a single security.