Reinvestment Rate

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Definition: Reinvestment Rate


Reinvestment Rate

Quick Summary of Reinvestment Rate


The reinvestment rate is the amount of interest that can be earned when money is taken out of one fixed-income investment and put into another.




What is the dictionary definition of Reinvestment Rate?

Dictionary Definition


Reinvestment rate is the rate at which an investor can reinvest cash flows from an investment.

Pertaining to the interest rate at which an investor is able to reinvest the income earned on an existing investment.


Full Definition of Reinvestment Rate


The reinvestment rate is the amount of interest that can be earned when money is taken out of one fixed-income investment and put into another. For example, the reinvestment rate is the amount of interest the investor could earn if he purchased a new bond while holding a callable bond called due because of an interest rate decline.

Understanding Reinvestment Rate

Anticipated reinvestment rates play a role in an investor’s decisions about what term to select when purchasing a bond or CD. An investor who expects interest rates to rise might select a shorter-term investment under the assumption the reinvestment rate when the bond or CD matures will be higher than the interest rates that can be locked for longer-maturity investments. When a bond is issued, and interest rates increase, an investor faces interest rate risk. Since bond prices fall when interest rates rise, an investor holding a fixed-rate bond may experience a capital loss if the bond is sold before its maturity date. The longer the time period until maturity, the greater the bond is subject to interest rate risk. Because a bondholder is given the face amount at maturity, bonds nearing the maturity date have little interest rate risk.

What is Reinvestment Risk

When interest rates decrease, the price of a fixed-rate bond increases. An investor may decide to sell a bond for a profit. Holding onto the bond may result in not earning as much interest income from reinvesting the periodic coupon payments; this is called reinvestment risk. When interest rates decline, interest payments on bonds also decrease. A bond’s yield to maturity declines, reducing the total income received.

Reinvested Coupon Payments

Instead of making coupon payments to the investor, some bonds reinvest the coupon into the bond, so it grows at a stated compound interest rate. When a bond has a longer maturity period, the interest on interest significantly increases the total return and maybe the only method of realizing an annualized holding period return equal to the coupon rate. Calculating reinvested interest depends on the reinvested interest rate.

Reinvested coupon payments may account for up to 80% of a bond’s return to an investor. The exact amount depends on the interest rate earned by the reinvested payments and the time period until the bond’s maturity date. The reinvested coupon payment may be calculated by figuring the compounded growth of reinvested payments, or by using formula when the bond’s interest rate and yield-to-maturity rate are equal.

Why it is important

Reinvestment rate is a common part of bond investing, but really any investment that generates cash flows exposes the investor to the need to find good reinvestment rates. The risk that the reinvestment rate will not be as high as the initial rate of return is called reinvestment risk.


Examples of Reinvestment Rate in a sentence


For the purpose of calculating the Reinvestment Rate, the most recent statistical release shall be used.


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Definition Sources


Definitions for Reinvestment Rate are sourced/syndicated and enhanced from:

  • A Dictionary of Economics (Oxford Quick Reference)
  • Oxford Dictionary Of Accounting
  • Oxford Dictionary Of Business & Management

This glossary post was last updated: 25th August, 2019 | 0 Views.