Question

Treasury bills and Treasury notes are an investment security issued by the U.S. government. A Treasury bill matures within one year and investors typically roll over the matured Treasury bill and purchase another Treasury bill the same day. Treasury notes have maturities of up to 10 years.

You are considering investing $50,000 in a Treasury bill that you will renew every 6 months or invest in a Treasury note that you will hold until maturity. Your investment time frame is 9 years.

Current investment opportunity interest rates are 5% and are expected to increase to 7% in 6 months. Would you invest in the Treasury bill that you can rollover every 6 months and reinvest or leave your money in the Treasury note that will mature in 9 years? Discuss your reasoning.

Answer 1

Treasury Bills:

Treasury Bill (T-Bill) is a short-term U.S. government debt obligation backed by the Treasury Department with a maturity of one year or less. Treasury bills are usually sold in denominations of $1,000. However, some can reach a maximum denomination of $5 million in non-competitive bids. These securities are widely regarded as low-risk and secure investments.

The Treasury Department sells T-Bills during auctions using a competitive and non-competitive bidding process. Noncompetitive bids—also known as non-competitive tenders—have a price based on the average of all the competitive bids received. T-Bills tend to have a high tangible net worth.

Treasury Notes:

A Treasury note (T-note for short) is a marketable U.S. government debt security with a fixed interest rate and a maturity between one and 10 years.

Treasury notes are available from the government with either a competitive or noncompetitive bid. With a competitive bid, investors specify the yield they want, at the risk that their bid may not be approved; with a noncompetitive bid, investors accept whatever yield is determined at auction.

Comparison :

When Investment is done in Treasury Bills different Duration Interest rate would be changing and where as Treasury Notes have fixed Interest rate so, Reinvest in Treasury would be have risk relating to the Rate if the period is fixed then investment in Treasury note would be Appropriate