Unit 2 Checkpoint Exam

Which of the following is a money market security? A) A 30-year T-bond issued by the Treasury 29 years ago B) A TAN maturing in 14 months C) A short-term T-bond mutual fund D) A newly issued T-note

A) A 30-year T-bond issued by the Treasury 29 years ago A money market security is a high quality and highly liquid security with one year, or less, left to maturity. Both the T-note and the Tax Anticipation Note are more than a year form maturity. The mutual fund has no maturity.

Which of these reasons would allow for a municipality to issue revenue bonds easier instead of general obligation bonds? I) Revenue bonds do not require voter approval. II) Revenue bonds generally have a higher rating than GO bonds from the same issuer. III) Revenue bonds are not constrained by a statutory debt limit. IV) Revenue bonds are supported by ad valorem taxes. A) I and III B) II and IV C) I and IV D) II and III

A) I and III Because revenue bonds are designed to be self-supporting from the revenue derived from the project funded by the bonds, voter approval is not required. On the other hand, because GO bonds are backed by taxes, such as ad valorem taxes, voter approval is generally required and there is a debt ceiling or limit imposed on the issuer.

Five years ago your client purchased at par $100,000 of New Brunswick City GO bonds maturing in 20 years from now and callable in six months. Interest rates have gone down over the last five years. Which of these should your client do? I) Your client should recognize that the bonds have a high probability to be called. II) Your client should recognize that the bonds are unlikely to be called. III) Your client should expect the bond is trading at a large discount. IV) Your client should expect the bonds are trading at a small premium. A) I and IV B) I and III C) II and IV D) II and III

A) I and IV If rates have declined the bonds are likely trading at a premium and very likely to be called at the first call date in six months. The proximity of the call date means the bonds premium will be small.

Which of these is not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government? A) Treasury receipts B) Treasury bills C) Treasury STRIPS D) Treasury bonds

A) Treasury receipts Treasury bills, bonds, and notes are backed in full by the U.S. government. Treasury STRIPS are also backed in full by the U.S. government but Treasury receipts are not because they are issued by broker-dealers. Therefore the government's backing can only be as good as the credit rating of the broker-dealer that issued them.

An investor who is seeking income might choose a corporate bond because A) a corporate bond pays a steady income and are generally reliable. B) bonds pay a higher dividend than stocks. C) bonds can grow faster than the rate of inflation. D) corporate bond interest is tax free.

A) a corporate bond pays a steady income and are generally reliable. Corporate bonds are, depending on rating, generally reliable producers of income through interest payments. Bonds do not pay dividends, nor do they grow in value with inflation. Corporate interest is fully taxable.

A zero-coupon bond interest pays A) at maturity and is taxed annually. B) annually and is taxed at maturity. C) and is taxed at maturity. D) and is taxed annually.

A) at maturity and is taxed annually. A zero-coupon bond interest is purchased at a deep discount and pays no interest until it matures; however, the interest is taxed on an annual basis, called phantom income.

Your customer asks to buy a bond that carries a very attractive yield. When checking the bond you see that it has a B rating from the major credit rating agencies. When communicating this information to the customer, all of these terms might be used to describe the bond except A) lower grade. B) high-yield. C) junk bond. D) noninvestment grade.

A) lower grade Though a B rating is certainly a lower investment grade rating, that is not a typical term used in the industry. All of the other terms are terms normally associated with these bonds carrying a greater risk of default.

Which of these Treasury securities is in correct order of shortest to longest maturities? A) Notes, bonds, bills B) Bills, notes, bonds C) Bonds, notes, bills D) Notes, bills, bonds

B) Bills, notes, bonds Bills have the shortest maturities with a maximum of one year (52 weeks), notes are from two to ten years, and bonds have maturities of more than ten years.

Which of these risks are not normally associated with bonds? A) Default risk B) Business risk C) Interest rate risk D) Purchasing power risk

B) Business risk Business risk is related to the growth prospects of a business and is most closely associated with common stock. Bond prices are subject to changes in interest rates. Default occurs when a company fails to meet its obligations to the bond holders. Most bonds are subject to a loss of purchasing power due to inflation.

The Alta Loma High School District is asking voters to approve a bond to fund the purchase of new computers and software. The bond will mature in 40 years and the interest and principal payments will be funded from real estate taxes. This is an example of a A) a debenture. B) GO bond. C) revenue bond. D) an equipment trust bond.

B) GO bond. If a municipal bond requires a vote it is most likely a GO bond. Generally revenue bonds do not require a vote (note that there is no revenue generating source here). Debentures and equipment trust certificates are issued by corporations, not municipalities

Which of these is in correct order of priority for a corporate liquidation? A) Guaranteed bond, secured bond, debenture, common stock B) Secured bond, debenture, subordinated debenture, common stock C) Convertible bonds, participating preferred stock, common stock, subordinated debentures D) Subordinated debenture, participating preferred stock, common stock, convertible preferred stock

B) Secured bond, debenture, subordinated debenture, common stock Any debt issue is superior to any equity issue. Any preferred stock is senior to any common stock. A guaranteed bond is unsecured debt, or a debenture.

Which of these statements regarding Treasury bills is correct? A) They have the highest interest rate risk of all Treasury securities. B) Treasury bills are the only type of Treasury security issued without a stated interest rate. C) They are issued with initial maturities of 3, 12, 24, and 50 weeks. D) They are usually issued at a slight premium to par value.

B) Treasury bills are the only type of Treasury security issued without a stated interest rate. Treasury bills are always issued at a discount, without a stated interest rate. Receiving par value back at maturity represents the interest income to the investor. Because of their short-term maturities, they have the lowest interest rate risk for Treasury securities, not the highest. T-Bills are issued in initial maturities of 4, 13, 26, and 52 weeks

A CMO consists of A) bonds and money market instruments. B) an FNMA, FHLMC, and other mortgage backed securities. C) various government backed mortgages. D) different sorts of nonmortgage debt.

B) an FNMA, FHLMC, and other mortgage backed securities. A Collateralized Mortgage Obligation is made up of different mortgage backed securities (including FNAM and FHLMC), not the mortgages directly.

A customer says they have a diversified portfolio of notes and bonds. This means their portfolio consists primarily of A) limited partnerships. B) debt instruments. C) equity securities. D) hedge funds.

B) debt instruments. Notes and bonds are types of debt and the term is often used generically to represent a debt securities.

Lando Entertainment, Inc., issues a bond collateralized by a trust holding the company's Las Vegas headquarters. This type of bond is called a A) guaranteed bond. B) mortgage bond. C) headquarters debenture. D) collateral trust bond.

B) mortgage bond. A secured bond backed by real estate is called a mortgage bond. Collateral trust bonds hold other securities in trust as collateral. A guaranteed bond is an unsecured bond backed by a third party. A headquarters debenture is a fictional thing.

Your customer, Shea, has a large portfolio of bonds and dividend paying stocks. Her primary interest is generating current income. She is trying to understand how taxes work for her T-bonds. You explain that A) the interest from her T-bonds is exempt at the federal level, but she will still owe taxes at the state and local level. B) the interest from her T-bonds is exempt at the state and local level, but she will still owe taxes at the federal level. C) the interest from her T-bonds is exempt at the state level, but she will still owe taxes at the local and federal level. D) the interest from her T-bonds is exempt at all levels.

B) the interest from her T-bonds is exempt at the state and local level, but she will still owe taxes at the federal level. Securities issued by the federal government produce interest that is not taxed at the state or local level. It is taxed at the federal level.

All of these are debt-security-maturity schedules except A) balloon. B) term. C) series. D) serial.

C) series. The three types of debt-security-maturity schedules are term, serial, and balloon. There is no series maturity schedule.

All of the following characteristics are true of securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association except A) they are backed by the federal government. B) they are called pass-through securities because the payments are made up of both interest and principal. C) they generate tax-free interest. D) they pay monthly.

C) they generate tax-free interest. GNMA interest is fully taxable. All the other statements are true.

Evan is a 75 year old customer with $100,000 to invest. He would like the money to generate additional income. He relates that he intensely hates paying taxes and dislikes the government in general. He is, however, interested in tax-free municipal bonds. All of these are important to gather before making a recommendation except A) his current tax bracket. B) the makeup of his portfolio. C) why he hates the government. D) his liquid net worth.

C) why he hates the government. Though it might be interesting to find out why he hates the government, the others are all basic points of suitab

Your customer calls you with a question. They tell you that they received a phone call from the bond desk telling them that they bought 20 bonds at 100. They want to know how much they paid for the bonds before any commission or other charges. You tell them A) $2,000. B) $1,000. C) $200,000. D) $20,000.

D) $20,000. 100 means they paid 100% of par ($1,000) per bond. They purchased 20 bonds, so the total amounts to $20,000. Note that the question asked how much they paid for the bonds, not the price per bond.

Your customer is in the 30% federal tax bracket. They consider purchasing a 7% corporate bond. Their after-tax yield would be A) 2.1%. B) 7%. C) 10%. D) 4.9%.

D) 4.9%. The formula for the calculation is 7% (corporate rate) × (100% — 30% (tax bracket)). 7 × (1 - 0.3) = = 7 × 0.7 = 4.9%

Your customer, Eleanor, purchased an InDebt Inc., 5% debenture at a price of 94. It matures in 12 years. What is the yield to maturity? A) 5.32 B) 4.69 C) 5 D) 5.73

D) 5.73 You do not have to calculate YTM for this problem. You could if you really wanted to, but it is not necessary for the question. You do need to recall the bond inverse relationship chart. The bond is trading at a discount so the YTM must be higher than the coupon of 5%; that eliminates two responses. Note that YTM is higher than current yield, and that you do need to calculate CY. The bonds annual interest divided by the price (50/940) is 5.32% (the CY). Only one response is higher than 5.32%.

A 6% corporate bond trading on a 7% basis is trading A) a premium. B) with a coupon rate below 6%. C) with a current yield above 7%. D) a discount.

D) a discount. The term a 7% basis means that the YTM is 7%. YTM is higher than the coupon rate (6%), so the bond trades at a discount. Current yield must be between the coupon rate and the YTM.

A bond's rating is used primarily as a measure of its A) volatility risk. B) interest rate risk. C) purchasing power risk. D) default risk.

D) default risk. Bond ratings from credit rating agencies are used to compare the relative risk of default. None of the others are issues of default.

Your customer is a resident of the state of Utah. She owns bonds issued by Puerto Rico. The interest from these bonds is A) taxable at the state level only. B) taxable at the state and local level because she is not a resident of Puerto Rico, but still tax free at the Federal level. C) taxable at all levels because the bonds are not issued by a state. D) tax free at all levels for U.S. citizens.

D) tax free at all levels for U.S. citizens. Bonds issued by or from a territory of the United States have tax-free income at all levels to U.S. citizens.