Series 65: Laddering

Laddering

Laddering is a strategy whereby a fixed-income investor buys multiple bonds or CDs at different maturities in order to avoid being locked into a single interest rate and a single maturity. Laddering is a way to reduce interest rate risk and spread out reinvestment risk. If the exam asks how can a fixed-income investor save for a target date and reduce interest rate risk, laddering may be the answer. Through laddering, bonds or CDs can be purchased to mature when cash is needed by the investor. See the figure below. The short-term bonds offer liquidity, while the longer term bonds offer higher coupon rates. This is an especially effective strategy for retirees who need continuous cash flow or clients who need money in the future to pay for college tuition. Laddering reduces both interest rate risk and reinvestment risk, because an investor is not stuck at one interest rate for long. Because he has bonds maturing at different times, he will have cash flow to get back into higher paying securities if he desires and if interest rates rise.

Ladders can be filled with a variety of different kinds of bonds to diversify default risk. Corporate bonds, municipals, government bonds, Treasuries, and CDs are all possibilities. The