Learning Module 11 Yield-Based Bond Duration Measures and Properties

50 questions available

Key Concepts and Definitions5 min
Yield-based duration measures quantify a bond's sensitivity to changes in its own yield-to-maturity, assuming promised cash flows are certain. Macaulay duration is the present-value-weighted average time to receipt of a bond's cash flows and can be annualized. Modified duration equals Macaulay duration divided by one plus the yield per period and measures the approximate percentage change in a bond's full (dirty) price for a small change in yield. Money duration (dollar duration) multiplies annualized modified duration by the bond's full price to express sensitivity in currency units. The price value of a basis point (PVBP) or PV01 measures the change in full price for a 1 basis point change in yield; it can be computed as (PV_minus - PV_plus)/2 using symmetric small shifts. For yield-based measures, convexity is the second-order curvature term; yield-based approximations for price changes combine modified duration and convexity. Approximation methods can be used to compute modified duration and convexity by computing PV at small up and down yield shifts and applying formulas. Special bond types: zero-coupon bond Macaulay duration equals time-to-maturity and modified duration is that over (1 + yield); perpetuity Macaulay duration equals (1 + r)/r; floating-rate note Macaulay duration equals the fraction of period until next reset (T - t)/T. Approximate modified duration formula: AnnModDur approx = (PV_minus - PV_plus) / (2 DeltaYield PV0). Approximate convexity formula: ApproxCon = (PV_minus + PV_plus - 2PV0) / (DeltaYield^2 PV0). Money duration = AnnModDur PVFull. Change in full price (percent) approximate: percent change approx = -AnnModDur DeltaYield + 0.5 AnnConvexity (DeltaYield)^2. Change in full price (currency) approx = -MoneyDur DeltaYield + 0.5 MoneyConvexity (DeltaYield)^2 where MoneyConvexity = AnnConvexity PVFull. PVBP can be computed symmetric as (PV_minus - PV_plus)/2 and equals MoneyDur * 0.0001 approximately. Yield-level, coupon, time-to-maturity and fraction of period elapsed influence duration: lower coupon, lower yield, longer maturity increase duration; duration declines as time passes. Use approximate formulas for small yield changes; include convexity for larger changes. Floating-rate instruments have very low duration between resets and are used to reduce portfolio duration. Excel functions: DURATION and MDURATION compute Macaulay and modified duration; PRICE computes full price for yield changes. Limitations: duration is a linear approximation; for large yield moves or bonds with contingent cash flows, duration-only estimates are inaccurate. The PVBP formula using symmetric 1-bp up and down shifts omits convexity but is a convention for small changes.

Key Points

  • Macaulay duration = PV-weighted average time to cash flows; annualize if needed.
  • Modified duration = Macaulay / (1 + yield per period); estimates percent price change.
  • Money (dollar) duration = AnnModDur * PVFull; PVBP ~ MoneyDur * 0.0001.
  • Approximate modified duration and convexity via small yield up/down PV computations.
  • Include convexity term for large yield changes: improves accuracy.
  • Zero-coupon Macaulay duration = time-to-maturity; perpetuity Macaulay = (1 + r)/r.
  • Floating-rate note duration = (T - t)/T (fraction until next reset).
  • Duration increases with longer maturity, lower coupon, lower yield; decreases with time.
  • Use Excel functions DURATION, MDURATION, PRICE for calculations.
Practical Application and Examples5 min
Practical steps to obtain duration and convexity for a bond include: calculate full price PV0, raise and lower yield-to-maturity by a small amount DeltaYield to obtain PV_plus and PV_minus (use appropriate periodic yields for coupon frequency), compute AnnModDur via (PV_minus - PV_plus)/(2 DeltaYield PV0), compute AnnConvexity via (PV_minus + PV_plus - 2PV0)/(DeltaYield^2 PV0), compute MoneyDur = AnnModDur PV0, and compute PVBP = (PV_minus - PV_plus)/2 (per 100 par) or MoneyDur 0.0001. Examples show BRWA 5-year bond: approximate annualized modified duration near 4.587 and annual convexity 24.239; approximations using 5 bps up/down give near-identical results. Application: estimate percent price change for 100 bps spread change using duration and convexity formula; convert percent to currency change using MoneyDur and MoneyConvexity. For floating-rate note, duration equals fraction until next reset; thus FRNs have low duration. Portfolio-level money duration is weighted sum of positions' money durations. Limitations: modified duration assumes linearity; convexity improves estimate but both assume cash flows unchanged and are less appropriate for bonds with contingent cash flows or options. For such bonds consider curve-based measures.

Key Points

  • Compute PV_plus and PV_minus for small DeltaYield to estimate duration and convexity.
  • PVBP computed as half of PV_minus minus PV_plus; provides 1 bp price change estimate.
  • Money duration and money convexity convert percent estimates to currency units.
  • Examples demonstrate high accuracy of approximation for small DeltaYield.
  • FRNs have low duration; useful to reduce portfolio duration.
  • Portfolio duration and convexity are weighted averages of holdings.

Questions

Question 1

Which measure is the present-value-weighted average time to receipt of a bond's cash flows?

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Question 2

How is modified duration (annualized) obtained from Macaulay duration and yield?

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Question 3

A bond has annualized modified duration 5.0 and price 95 per 100 par. What is its money duration per 100 par value?

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Question 4

Which formula approximates annual modified duration using small symmetric yield changes and three full prices PV0, PV_plus, PV_minus?

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Question 5

For the same DeltaYield, adding convexity to a duration-based price estimate does what for a bond being repriced after a yield decrease?

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Question 6

A 5-year bond is priced at par 100, AnnModDur = 4.587, and AnnConvexity = 24.239. If yield increases by 80 basis points, what is the approximate percent price change using duration and convexity?

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Question 7

Which bond feature, holding other factors constant, leads to a higher modified duration?

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Question 8

A zero-coupon bond maturing in five years yields 3 percent. What is its modified duration (annualized)?

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Question 9

Which Excel function returns Macaulay duration for a bond given settlement and maturity dates, coupon, and yield?

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Question 10

How is PVBP (price value per basis point) approximated from PV_plus and PV_minus computed for 1 basis point shifts?

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Question 11

A bond has PV0 = 100.50, PV+ for +1 bp = 100.4594, PV- for -1 bp = 100.5485. What is PVBP per 100 par?

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Question 12

Which statement about floating-rate note (FRN) duration is correct?

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Question 13

If a bond's annualized modified duration is 4.0, what is the estimated percent price change when yield rises by 100 basis points using duration only?

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Question 14

Which bond will have the highest modified duration, all else equal?

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Question 15

Using approximation, which of the following is a correct expression for approximate annual convexity given PV_plus and PV_minus around PV0 with small DeltaYield?

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Question 16

A bond has modified duration 6 and reported convexity 0.235 (as shown). To apply percent change formula for a 1 percent yield change, how should convexity be scaled in the calculation?

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Question 17

For a bond with PV0 = 100, AnnModDur = 4.5, and MoneyDur = 450 per 100 par, what is the approximate PVBP in currency per 100 par?

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Question 18

If a semiannual-coupon bond has Macaulay duration expressed in semiannual periods of 9.3203, how do you convert to an annualized Macaulay duration in years?

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Question 19

Why does modified duration typically decline as a bond approaches its next coupon payment date between coupons?

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Question 20

Which bond characteristic can cause modified duration to increase, holding maturity constant?

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Question 21

For a bond traded at par with annual coupon c equal to yield r, Macaulay duration is:

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Question 22

Which bond will have the lowest PVBP per 100 par, all else equal?

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Question 23

You approximate modified duration for a bond using DeltaYield = 5 basis points. Which change to DeltaYield would generally improve the accuracy of the duration approximation (all else equal)?

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Question 24

If a bond's annualized modified duration is 4.58676 and its price per 100 par is 100.504, what is the approximate dollar loss on a 100 million par position if yield increases by 100 basis points using money duration (ignore convexity)?

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Question 25

Which bond does modified duration measure sensitivity to?

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Question 26

You compute approximate modified duration using PV_plus and PV_minus with DeltaYield = 5 basis points. PV_plus = 99.771, PV_minus = 100.230, PV0 = 100. What is the approximate annualized modified duration?

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Question 27

Which of the following is true about modified duration and effective duration for an option-free bond when the yield curve is flat?

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Question 28

A bond with reported annual convexity of 24 has AnnModDur 4.5 and PVFull 100. What is the money convexity for a 100 par position?

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Question 29

Which situation would make approximate modified duration and convexity formulas less accurate?

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Question 30

How do you annualize modified duration computed on a semiannual basis (two periods per year) when MDURATION returns a periodic measure?

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Question 31

A bond's PV_plus with yield increased by 5 bps is 99.771, PV_minus for decreased by 5 bps is 100.230 and PV0 is par 100. If you use DeltaYield = 0.0005, what is approximate annual convexity using the formula given?

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Question 32

If a bond trades at a full price of 100.815 per 100 par and AnnModDur is 4.335, what is the money duration per 100 par?

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Question 33

Which bond type typically has Macaulay duration equal to its time-to-maturity?

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Question 34

Which of the following is a correct practical use of PVBP for portfolio management?

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Question 35

What happens to a bond's Macaulay duration as it moves toward maturity, assuming yield constant?

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Question 36

A semiannual bond has Macaulay duration at issuance of 9.3203 periods and yield per period of 1.6 percent. What is the bond's modified duration (period basis)?

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Question 37

Which statement is correct about PVBP and convexity for small yield changes?

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Question 38

Which bond characteristic reduces its modified duration, holding maturity constant?

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Question 39

You approximate Macaulay duration between coupon dates by setting the first cash flow time-to-receipt to 1 - t/T where t/T is fraction elapsed. If t/T = 57/360, what is first time-to-receipt in periods?

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Question 40

Which of the following correctly describes the relationship between coupon rate and convexity, holding yield and maturity constant?

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Question 41

What is the main limitation of using modified duration alone to estimate bond price changes?

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Question 42

When computing approximate modified duration, why do we use symmetric yield up and down moves (PV_plus and PV_minus)?

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Question 43

Which of the following best explains why long-term discount bonds might have lower duration than shorter-term discount bonds at some maturities?

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Question 44

Which of the following practical approximations yields annualized Macaulay duration from approximate annual modified duration?

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Question 45

If a bond's approximate annualized modified duration is 16.249 and PVFull is 107.429, what is the PVBP (price change for 1 bp) approximately in currency units per 100 par?

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Question 46

A 10-year bond priced at 100 has AnnModDur 9.23693 and AnnConvexity 93.87376. For a 100 basis point increase in yield, approximate percent price change using both terms?

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Question 47

Which of the following bonds is best hedged against small changes in its own yield when held to a horizon equal to its Macaulay duration?

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Question 48

Which measure should you use if you need the change in price for a bond with embedded options when the benchmark par curve shifts?

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Question 49

A perpetuity pays coupon c forever and yields r. What is its Macaulay duration?

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Question 50

Which of the following best summarizes why convexity is valuable to investors?

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