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Treasury I Bond yield discrepancy

67 10 February 7, 2023 at 11:31 AM
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I purchased 2 I-Bonds, one with an issue date of Oct 01, 2021 showing 9.62% yield, another one with issue date of Jan 01, 2022 with 6.48%.

But the current value on the one that was purchased earlier with high yield is showing less value than the one with low yield.

I'm attaching screenshot.

Am I missing something?
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YanksIn2009
02-07-2023 at 07:35 PM.
02-07-2023 at 07:35 PM.
Quote from GanM :
I purchased 2 I-Bonds, one with an issue date of Oct 01, 2021 showing 9.62% yield, another one with issue date of Jan 01, 2022 with 6.48%.

But the current value on the one that was purchased earlier with high yield is showing less value than the one with low yield.

I'm attaching screenshot.

Am I missing something?

As understand the way TD shows valuations on I-bonds, it factors in a 3 month penalty on I-bonds under 5 years since to cash them in you would incur a penalty equal to the last 3 months interest. The only way to know for sure would be to calculate the interest earned for each month of each bond and then subtract the last 3 months out. Since the rate changes every 6 months, and is good for 6 months, you would have to look up those values and calculate accordingly.
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AnthonyO
02-11-2023 at 05:47 AM.
02-11-2023 at 05:47 AM.
The interest rate on your ibonds changes every 6 months to the current inflation rate. The bond purchased in October had an initial rate of 3.54% annualized, while the bond purchased in January had an initial rate of 7.12%. The bond purchased later has had more time in the higher interest period, accounting for the difference. The bond purchased earlier will catch up in value as it works it's way through the higher interest steps.

Your ibonds so far...

Oct 21:
Oct 21-march 22 - 3.54% - $177 interest
April 22- Sept. 22 - 7.12% - $362 interest
October 22 -9.62% - $84.49 interest (interest from Nov,Dec,Jan are excluded from Treasury direct to reflect the 3 month interest penalty for early withdrawal)
Annualized Average: 5.66% for 13 months
Total interest~ $624

Jan 22:
Jan 22- jun 22 - 7.12% -$356
July 22-Oct 22 - 9.62% -$332
Annualized Average: 8.12% for 10 months
Total interest - $688

Timing is everything. You bought the October bond just before rates shot up, so it is a bit behind in collecting the higher rates.
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Last edited by AnthonyO February 11, 2023 at 08:11 AM.
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GanM
02-13-2023 at 03:22 PM.
02-13-2023 at 03:22 PM.
Quote from AnthonyO :
The interest rate on your ibonds changes every 6 months to the current inflation rate. The bond purchased in October had an initial rate of 3.54% annualized, while the bond purchased in January had an initial rate of 7.12%. The bond purchased later has had more time in the higher interest period, accounting for the difference. The bond purchased earlier will catch up in value as it works it's way through the higher interest steps.

Your ibonds so far...

Oct 21:
Oct 21-march 22 - 3.54% - $177 interest
April 22- Sept. 22 - 7.12% - $362 interest
October 22 -9.62% - $84.49 interest (interest from Nov,Dec,Jan are excluded from Treasury direct to reflect the 3 month interest penalty for early withdrawal)
Annualized Average: 5.66% for 13 months
Total interest~ $624

Jan 22:
Jan 22- jun 22 - 7.12% -$356
July 22-Oct 22 - 9.62% -$332
Annualized Average: 8.12% for 10 months
Total interest - $688

Timing is everything. You bought the October bond just before rates shot up, so it is a bit behind in collecting the higher rates.
Thanks a lot @AnthonyO for clarifying. I believe it compounds every 6 months, unlike CD or High Yield Savings which compounds every month/day depending on the bank.
I'm going keep the money on IBond for some more time. May be after Jun 2023 I'll withdraw.
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maddog55
02-13-2023 at 04:36 PM.
02-13-2023 at 04:36 PM.
Quote from GanM :
I purchased 2 I-Bonds, one with an issue date of Oct 01, 2021 showing 9.62% yield, another one with issue date of Jan 01, 2022 with 6.48%.

But the current value on the one that was purchased earlier with high yield is showing less value than the one with low yield.

I'm attaching screenshot.

Am I missing something?
Are you sure about the interest rate for the Jan bond? Just before year-end 2021, I thought that I bought my I-bond. Although I the transaction was online and a direct payment from my bank using the routing number, there was a 1-2 day delay with the bank which caused the purchase to be on Jan 1, 2022. I'm very confident that the rate on that day was still 9.62%. I even kept a screenshot of the purchase.

Later last year, I tried to see why the interest that had accrued didn't match my expected rate. I was already aware of the fact that the rate is actually two components; the fixed portion and the component tied to inflation. Also knew what the new rate was when it was published months later. Still couldn't match the website so I finally sent them an e-mail. I was pleasantly surprised with a quick reply saying they couldn't get into details using e-mail and asked me to just call them and they'd be happy to review the calculations. You may wish to give them a ring.
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MsGal
03-08-2023 at 03:44 PM.
03-08-2023 at 03:44 PM.
I'm glad someone brought this up because I have been trying to figure this out myself for the last couple of hours.

I bought (2) $10,000 I-bonds on October 12, 2022. One in my name, one in my husband's. I checked the current holdings for both today and it shows a valuation of only $10,156.00. Given the rates when I bought, I was expecting them to be worth more than they are. It's very confusing.
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slicbrat
03-09-2023 at 09:53 AM.
03-09-2023 at 09:53 AM.
Does anybody know if we can buy these I-bonds for dependent kids?
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simiglen
03-10-2023 at 05:41 PM.
03-10-2023 at 05:41 PM.
Quote from slicbrat :
Does anybody know if we can buy these I-bonds for dependent kids?
https://www.treasurydirect.gov/sa...en--978645
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slicbrat
03-19-2023 at 07:32 AM.
03-19-2023 at 07:32 AM.
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