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What is Yield to Maturity (YTM)?

Oct 11, 2023
5 min
4 Rating

YTM, also known as yield to maturity, is the overall return, envisioned on a distinct bond that is held till it reaches maturity. Yield to Maturity is known as long-term bond profit, which is calculated at a yearly rate.

It's also known as the IRR or Internal Rate of Return of a particular investment when the investor holds a bond till it hits maturity by reinvesting and making all the payments at the same rate.

What is Yield?

Yield is known as the return, which you will get from the debt security after a particular time. You can calculate the yield with various instruments to learn whether or not an investment is lucrative enough to produce outstanding returns. You will come across many types of yield. Here are two popular ones:

â—Ź Current Yield: The current yield is known as the current income, which you get to earn from the stocks. You can easily calculate the current yield by increasing the stock's value, adding the dividend, and splitting the dividend by the value of the existing market price.

â—Ź Yield of Cost: The yield of cost, which is also known as YOC, is the measure of the dividend yield. You can calculate YOC by dividing the existing dividend of a cost by the price that was paid for the stocks.

How is Yield Calculated?

You can calculate the yield by dividing it by the return that you got from the investment sum. It's multiplied by 100, through which you will get the metric in the percentage form.

Another way you can calculate the yield is by dividing the returns you earned by the investment's market value. That way, you can effectively assess the existing yield.

What is Yield to Maturity?

Yield to Maturity (YTM) is the total rate of return that an investor expects to earn on his investment assuming that the instrument is held until maturity.

The Yield to Maturity, which is commonly known as YTM, is known as the "reprieve yield" or the "book yield." Yield to maturity shares similarities with the existing yield, and it splits the yearly cash influxes from the bond by the bond's market price.

This helps decide how much funds you will earn when you purchase the bond and then keep it for a year.

When compared with the existing yield, the Yield to Maturity accounts for the current value of the bond's coupon costs.

Due to such reasons, you have to calculate the returns from the bond thoroughly. But the discount bond's Yield to Maturity, which doesn't pay the coupon, will be the right place for you to begin.

This is especially true when you wish to have a good understanding of the complicated problems associated with coupon bonds.

Yield to Maturity Formula

By now, you already know what exactly Yield to Maturity is. But if you wish to calculate YTM, you have to use the YTM formula:

“Yield to Maturity = [C+ {(Face Value – Present Value) / T}] / [(Face Value + Present Value) / 2]”

Here:

  • FV: Security's face value

  • PV: Security's price or the present value

  • C: Coupon payment or the interest

  • T: Number of years it takes to reach the maturity

How to Calculate YTM?

When you want to calculate YTM, you have to utilize the yield to maturity formula as well. So, to begin, let's say that bond carries a market price of $750 and comes with a face value of $1000.

For this particular bond, the annual coupons are $150. The bond's coupon rate is 15%, and the bond will mature in 7 years. The following calculation will offer a better understanding:

“Yield to Maturity = [150 + {(1000 – 750) / 7}] / [(1000 + 750) / 2]”
So, the total Yield to Maturity of a particular bond will be 17.53%

What is the Yield to Maturity in Debt Mutual Funds?

In debt mutual funds, Yield to Maturity will determine the projected yield by utilizing the whole earnings of the fund rather than a single bond's earnings. YTM also stands out as an excellent indication for all the secure-maturity plans and the closed-ended cash.

It's primarily because all the portfolios are kept on hold until they hit maturity. During the provisional stage, there is not much room available for the outflow and influx of funds.

Limitations of Yield to Maturity

Yield to Maturity certainly has several limitations that every investor must consider. The first limitation is that the calculations don't account for the taxes that the investors pay on all the bonds. In such situations, YTM is viewed as the gross redemption profit/yield.

Another limitation of the current yield and Yield of Maturity is that all these calculations are just estimates and are not entirely reliable.

The original returns will depend heavily on the bond's price when sold. Besides that, the bond's price is also projected through the market, and it can also fluctuate.

Please Note: The information herein is meant only for general reading purposes and the views being expressed only constitute opinions and therefore cannot be considered as guidelines, recommendations or as a professional guide for the readers.

Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.

FAQ's

The yield of maturity is a return that you will get when you make an investment in the bonds. It's viewed as a percentage of the existing market price.

Yield to Call, or just YTC, is a term that directs to the return earned by the bondholder when he/she holds on to the bond till the call date. The call date takes place right before the bond hits maturity.

YTW, which is also known as Yield to Worst, is a way to measure the lowest yield, which you can get from the bond through an early superannuation provision.

Effective yield is known as the return, which investors will get from the bond that has its coupons or interest payments, which gets reinvested at the same rate by the investor.

In short, it will depend entirely on you. If you're an investor who can endure a bit of risk to obtain a much higher return, then the high-yield bond is ideal for you. On the other hand, the low-yield one is perfect for investors who want a risk-free asset virtually.

The difference between YTM and interest rate is that YTM is the return that an investor receives on a bond they have invested once it matures. The interest rate is the sum paid by the issuer to the bondholder annually.

When it comes to the trial error, Yield to Maturity is calculated with the help of the trial-and-error technique