Average Maturity, Macaulay Duration, and Modified Duration of Debt Funds

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modified duration meaning

The term “short” is used to describe a position where an investor has borrowed an asset or has an interest in the asset (e.g., derivatives) that will rise in value when the price falls in value. In this case, if the YTM increases from 6% to 7% because interest rates are rising, the bond’s value should fall by $2.61. Similarly, the bond’s price should rise by $2.61 if the YTM falls from 6% to 5%.

modified duration meaning

Only the securities in the fund’s portfolio expire at the conclusion of the period, not the fund itself. They have a set maturity date and pay a fixed interest rate for the duration of the. As a result, debt fund returns are more predictable as well as provide consistent returns than equity funds.

Average duration

If, for example, you expect rates to rise, it may make sense to focus on shorter-duration investments (in other words, those that have less interest-rate risk). Or, in this sort of environment, you may want to focus on bonds that take on different types of risks, such as the Strategic Income Opportunities Fund, which is less affected by movements in interest rates. Because every bond and bond fund has a duration, those numbers can be a useful tool that you and your financial professional can use to compare bonds and bond funds as you construct and adjust your investment portfolio. % Change in bond prices if rates spike 1% Hypothetical illustration of the effects of duration, exclusively on bond pricesThis chart is for illustrative purposes only. YTM represents a debt fund’s prospective returns and the quality of the bonds in the scheme.

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PV01 (present value of an 01) is sometimes used, although PV01 more accurately refers to the value of a one dollar or one basis point annuity. Duration, despite its simple conceptual understanding is not a perfect metric. If you look with a keen eye on duration, you will notice that there is a flaw. Duration assumes that a bond’s price rises/falls by the same amount for a given change in yields. A bond duration of 5 years would imply that the bond’s price changes by 5% if yields go up or down by 100bp.

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There are many types of duration, and all components of a bond, such as its price, coupon, maturity date, and interest rates, are used to calculate duration. Duration and convexity are two metrics used to help investors understand how the price of a bond will be affected by changes in interest rates. How a bond’s price responds to changes in interest rates is measured by its duration, and can help investors understand the implications for a bond’s price should interest rates change.

  • The table below highlights the types of bonds that exhibit each type of convexity.
  • If you have been investing in fixed-income investment schemes such as term deposits and are now looking for consistent returns with low volatility, debt mutual funds are perfect for you.
  • They are, nevertheless, influenced by interest rate cycles depending on their duration.
  • In 2021, the inflation rate was 7.5%, so investors holding bonds having coupon rates lower than 7.5% actually lost money.

Whether you are in retirement or investing to build a better future, consistent performance and low fees are critical to achieve your goals. Duration is a measurement, in years, that assesses the interest-rate sensitivity of a bond. Investors should be urged to consult their tax professionals or financial advisors for more information regarding their specific tax situations.

Duration & Coupon Rate

If these circles were put on a balance beam, the fulcrum (balanced center) of the beam would represent the weighted average distance (time to payment), which is 1.78 years in this case. Insurance companies and pension funds can use modified duration to manage their risk related to interest rates as well. These organizations often hold bonds in their fixed-income portfolios with prices that can fluctuate based on interest rate changes. Modified duration is a formula that measures the sensitivity of the valuation change of a security to changes in interest rates.

The sum of these values will then be divided by the current bond price to determine its Macaulay duration. The longer measure in years for Macaulay duration, the more exposure the bond’s future cash flows will have to changing interest rates. Macaulay duration is the weighted average time to receive all the bond’s cash flows and is expressed in years. A bond’s modified duration converts the Macaulay duration into an estimate of how much the bond’s price will rise or fall with a 1% change in the yield to maturity. The DV01 is analogous to the delta in derivative pricing (one of the “Greeks”) – it is the ratio of a price change in output (dollars) to unit change in input (a basis point of yield). Dollar duration or DV01 is the change in price in dollars, not in percentage.

modified duration meaning

And that’s why we think it’s important to work with a financial professional who can help you construct a portfolio that’s built to meet your individual goals. This communication is provided for general information only, without regard to any specific objectives, financial situations and needs of any particular person. This communication does not constitute an offer or invitation to avail services and no part of it shall form the basis of or be relied upon in connection with any contract or commitment whatsoever. Additionally, you can take advice from the fund managers at Tata Capital Moneyfy to help you make better investments in mutual funds.

Difference between average maturity, Macaulay’s duration, and modified duration

When these sections are put together, they tell an investor the weighted average amount of time to receive the bond’s cash flows. Duration is a measure of the sensitivity of the price of a bond or other debt instrument to a change in interest rates. In general, the higher the duration, the more a bond’s price will drop as interest rates rise (and the greater the interest rate risk). For example, if rates were to rise 1%, a bond or bond fund with a five-year average duration would likely lose approximately 5% of its value. The bond’s price is about $84 for a par value of $100, a yield to maturity (YTM) of 14.92% and a duration of 3.09 as of May 9, 2022. Let’s assume that an investor buys the bond at $84 and expects the yield to rise by 100bp to 15.92%.

Modified duration can be extended to instruments with non-fixed cash flows, while Macaulay duration applies only to fixed cash flow instruments. Modified duration is defined as the logarithmic derivative of price with respect to yield, and such a definition will apply to instruments that depend on yields, whether or not the cash flows are fixed. Duration measures a bond price’s sensitivity to changes in interest rates—so why is it called duration?

The change in a bond’s duration for a given change in yields can be measured by its convexity. Bond duration is a way of measuring how much bond prices are likely to change if and when interest rates move. In more technical terms, bond duration is measurement of interest rate risk. Understanding bond duration can help investors determine how bonds fit in to a broader investment portfolio.

Duration & Convexity: The Price/Yield Relationship

Modified duration follows the concept that interest rates and bond prices move in opposite directions. This formula is used to determine the effect that a 100-basis-point (1%) change in interest rates will have on the price of a bond. The longer an investor needs to wait for the payment of coupons and the return of principal, the more a bond’s price will drop as interest rates rise, and the higher the bond’s duration will be.

modified duration meaning

Modified duration is an important measure to consider when investing in bonds. Where the division by 100 is because modified duration is the percentage change. You can also find online calculators that can help you calculate both Macaulay and modified duration meaning modified durations. While the underlying idea behind modified duration is simple, the calculation of the measure isn’t as straightforward as you might like. The good news is that there are tools that make calculating modified duration easier.

For example, if rates were to rise 1%, a bond or bond fund having a five-year average duration would likely lose approximately 5% of its value. Interest rates are determined by the Federal Funds Rate which is the interest rate that banks charge other banks to lend them money on an overnight basis. The Federal Funds Rate is set by the Federal Reserve, who increases or decreases the rate to respond to changes in the economy. A lower Federal Funds Rate means banks have more money to lend and the economy is stimulated. A higher Federal Funds Rate means banks have less money to lend and the economy is dampened.

For example, bond with a call option can be called back before its maturity date. Effective Duration thus takes the price of the bond if yields increase or decrease by a certain quantum. Modified duration is a measure of the sensitivity of a bond’s price to changes in interest rates, taking into account the bond’s cash flows and time to maturity. The modified duration of a bond is influenced by factors such as time to maturity, coupon rate, yield, and the frequency of coupon payments. Modified duration is a measure of a bond’s price sensitivity to interest rate movements.

Other Factors That Impact a Bond’s Value

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It is calculated by taking the bond’s duration and subtracting the bond’s coupon rate. The higher the modified duration, the more sensitive the bond’s price is to interest rate movements. The modified duration of a bond is a measure of the sensitivity of the bond’s price to changes in interest rates. It is calculated by dividing the bond’s price by the change in the bond’s yield caused by a 1% change in interest rates. For example, if a bond has a modified duration of 5, then a 1% increase in interest rates would cause the bond’s price to fall by 5%.

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Sometimes we can be misled into thinking that it measures which part of the yield curve the instrument is sensitive to. After all, the modified duration (% change in price) is almost the same number as the Macaulay duration (a kind of weighted average years to maturity). For example, the annuity above has a Macaulay duration of 4.8 years, and we might think that it is sensitive to the 5-year yield. But it has cash flows out to 10 years and thus will be sensitive to 10-year yields. If we want to measure sensitivity to parts of the yield curve, we need to consider key rate durations. Macaulay duration is the weighted average time that it takes for all of a bond’s future cash flows to be received and to cover the true cost of the bond.