(New York)

Retail investors have often had trouble accessing the corporate bond markets. Bond are traded in $1,000 increments and usually move in multi-million Dollar transactions, putting the asset out of the reach of most (new corporate bond ETFs aside). However, there is an easier way to directly own bonds—so-called baby bonds, or bonds sold on stock exchanges like the NYSE in $25 increments. The total market size for the bonds is around $20 bn and the securities are usually senior unsecured. Issuers like them because they are callable after just five years. Frequently the bonds have higher yields than their convention counterparts. Finally, they pay interest four times a year rather than twice.

FINSUM: This is an interesting if niche asset class, but there is some appeal in the unique terms these “baby bonds” have. There are also some big name issuers like AT&T and eBay.