Below is a guide to using the Bond Screener. Refine your search by indicating ranges for the following selection criteria:

Price
Select from 3 price ranges when screening for bonds: Premium (>100), Par (=100) and Discount (<100).

Coupon Range
The interest rate a bond's issuer promises to pay to the bondholder until maturity. The interest rate is an annual percentage of the bond's face value. For example, a bond with a 5% coupon pays $5 per $100 of the bond's face value per year, subject to credit risk. You can enter a minimum coupon, maximum coupon, or enter both to specify a range.

Current Yield Range
Current yield is the annual coupon interest payment divided by the current market price of the security. Current yield does not include capital gains and losses or the effect of interest-on-interest compounding from reinvesting coupon interest payments. You can enter a minimum current yield, maximum current yield, or enter both to specify a range.

Yield To Maturity (YTM) Range
Yield to maturity is the calculated return on investment that an investor gets if they hold the bond to maturity. It takes into account the present value of all future cash flows, as well as any premium or discount to par that the investor pays. You can enter a minimum YTM, maximum YTM, or enter both to specify a range.

Maturity Range
When you purchase a bond, you are lending money to the issuer for a fixed amount of time. This specific future date on which your principal will be returned is known as the bond's maturity. Maturity is generally a good indication of when you as the investor will get your money back. However, some corporate and municipal bonds can be redeemed or called prior to maturity. Generally speaking, yields rise as maturities get longer. Also, the longer the maturity, the more the price of the bond changes (up or down) as general interest rate levels change. You can enter a minimum maturity length, maximum maturity length, or enter both to specify a range.

Debt Rating Range
Corporate and municipal bonds are debt obligations of specific corporations or municipalities, and there is potential risk involved in lending them money. Researching these bonds and their risk is a full time job and probably beyond the means of the individual investor. Luckily there are rating services that provide in-depth analysis of the issuer's financial situation, economic and debt characteristics as well as the specific revenue sources securing the bond.

The Bond Screener uses a well known service, Fitch Ratings, to provide you with a rating for each bond. Below is a chart that shows a scale of ratings assigned to bonds by these services going from the best quality to the lowest.

Fitch ratings can be modified by the addition of a "+" or "-" (plus or minus). "A+" being slightly higher grade than "A" and "A-" being slightly lower.

Occasionally you might see some bonds with an "NR". This means Not Rated and does not necessarily mean that the bonds are of low quality. It basically means that the issuer did not apply to Fitch Ratings for a rating.

You can enter a minimum rating, maximum rating, or enter both to specify a range.

Callable
Bonds that can be called before maturity are defined as "callable."