Individual bonds: face value, quoted prices and interest-rate risk
Use explicitly fictional bond examples to learn par-value arithmetic without confusing a bond with a bond ETF.
A debt obligation with specific terms
A bond is a debt instrument. Its issuer generally promises payments under stated terms, subject to credit and other risks. Face value, coupon, maturity, currency and issuer all affect how an individual bond is understood. Bond market prices can change before maturity.
All 20 individual bonds in this practice catalog are fictional teaching assets. Their identifiers begin with DEMO-BOND. They are not actual issues, CUSIPs or offers of government, municipal or corporate debt. Descriptive regions and coupon examples do not represent real issuers.
Read a price expressed as a percentage of par
Each demonstration bond has $1,000 face value. A quote of 98% of par corresponds to $980 per bond. Buying two bonds at that fictional price costs $1,960. A later quote of 101% gives a $1,010 value per bond.
The trade screen shows both the dollar amount and percentage of face value. Whole bonds are required. The catalog’s illustrative coupon and term are educational descriptors; the simulator does not pay coupons, accrue interest or redeem principal at maturity.
Practice a simplified rate change
When prevailing interest rates rise, existing fixed-rate bond prices generally move lower, other things equal. Credit conditions and maturity also matter. The rate-rise scenario applies a larger illustrative decline to longer-term demonstration bonds.
This is a simplified arithmetic shock, not a yield curve, duration calculation, credit model or forecast. Real bond trades can have accrued interest, spreads and limited liquidity. Those features are omitted. Bond ETFs such as BND remain in the ETF category.
Practice investing with virtual money · Paper trading guide · Practice methodology