Bond Duration

Bond duration is the amount of time it will take the bond to deliver half of the total payment back to the investor. The bond duration is weighted, or adjusted to factor in the time value of money. Since cash received soon can quickly be invested for returns, payments in the future are worth less than payments received soon or cash held today.

Bond Duration depends on the balance of yield and maturity. A higher yield will result in a shorter duration if comparing two bonds of the same maturity. The duration also indicates the sensitivity of bonds to the movements of interest weights. A longer duration results in higher interest rate risk exposure. Assuming equal risk from the issuer, a shorter duration is more likely to be received.

The duration itself is subject to change, since the next payment at any date can never be guaranteed and duration assumes full payment. Durations are generally shorter than their maturity. The exception is Zero-coupon bonds, which have durations equal to their maturity. These bonds pay both interest and principal at maturity, so they cannot have lesser durations.