Browse Investing

Bond Yields and Roll-Down

Bond yield terms for Treasury yields, roll-down return, fixed-income return measures, and yield comparisons.

Bond yields and roll-down terms describe how return is quoted and how price may change as a bond ages along the yield curve.

Use this branch when a fixed-income return estimate depends on the starting yield, the Treasury curve, positive or negative yields, or the expected roll-down effect over the holding period.

Key Terms in This Branch

TermWhat it clarifies
Treasury YieldA government-securities yield often used as a benchmark.
Roll-Down ReturnReturn from moving to a shorter point on the yield curve, assuming the curve shape is unchanged.
Positive Bond YieldA yield above zero under the stated convention.
Negative Bond YieldA yield below zero under the stated convention.

What to Verify

Check the yield curve date, maturity point, coupon, price, settlement date, spread, call features, currency, and whether the roll-down assumption holds if the curve shifts or reshapes.

Common Mistakes

  • Treating roll-down return as certain.
  • Comparing Treasury yield with corporate yield without separating credit spread.
  • Ignoring currency, inflation, and tax context.
  • Assuming a positive yield means positive realized return over every holding period.

In this section

Choose a subsection first. Deeper term pages live inside each subsection, which keeps large topic hubs readable.

Negative Bond Yield

A negative bond yield means the buyer accepts an expected nominal return below zero if held under stated assumptions.

Positive Bond Yield

A positive bond yield means the bond offers an expected return above zero before considering taxes, inflation, or realized reinvestment outcomes.

Roll-Down Return

Bond return component earned when a security moves to a lower-yield point on an unchanged or stable upward-sloping curve.

Treasury Yield

Treasury yield is the market interest rate on U.S. Treasury securities, used as a benchmark for discount rates and risk-free curves.

Revised on Sunday, June 21, 2026