Corporate bond

Corporate bonds are debt securities issued by publicly held corporations to raise money for expansion or other business needs.

Corporate bonds typically pay a higher rate of interest than federal or municipal government bonds, but the interest you earn is generally fully taxable.

You may be able to buy corporate bonds at issue through your brokerage firm, usually at the offering price of $1,000 per bond, though you may have to buy several bonds of the same issue rather than just one.

You can buy bonds on the secondary market at their current market price, which may be higher or lower than par. However, most individual investors buy corporate bonds though a mutual fund that specializes in those issues.