Browse Investing

Bond Yield Comparisons and Spread Pickups

Investment yield terms for yield basis, yield equivalence, yield gaps, and yield pickup decisions.

Bond Yield Comparisons and Spread Pickups terms explain how investment results are measured, compared, annualized, compounded, distributed, or translated into yield language.

Use this branch when the question depends on the exact return formula, time period, reinvestment assumption, fee treatment, tax treatment, or income-versus-price return split.

Key Terms in This Branch

TermUse it for
Yield BasisA measurement term for comparing investment income, growth, or total performance.
Yield EquivalenceA measurement term for comparing investment income, growth, or total performance.
Yield GapA measurement term for comparing investment income, growth, or total performance.
Yield PickupA measurement term for comparing investment income, growth, or total performance.

What to Check

Check the formula, measurement period, compounding convention, cash-flow timing, reinvestment assumption, fees, taxes, currency, and whether the result is historical, expected, quoted, or realized.

Common Mistakes

  • Comparing returns from different periods or compounding conventions.
  • Treating quoted yield or expected return as the same as realized performance.
  • Ignoring fees, taxes, currency, reinvestment, and cash-flow timing.
  • Mixing income return, price return, and total return without labeling each measure.

This page is educational and does not recommend a specific investment strategy, security, tax treatment, or account choice.

In this section

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

Yield Basis

Yield basis states the convention used to quote or compare fixed-income yields, such as current yield, yield to maturity, or tax-equivalent yield.

Yield Equivalence

Yield equivalence compares taxable and tax-exempt yields so investors can evaluate after-tax fixed-income returns.

Yield Gap

Yield gap measures the difference between equity dividend yields and bond yields, often used to compare relative market valuation.

Yield Pickup

Yield pickup is the additional yield gained by switching from a lower-yielding security to a higher-yielding alternative.

Revised on Sunday, June 21, 2026