A major appeal of investing in bonds is that they provide investors with a steady stream of income and guarantee the repayment of the loan in full at maturity. Bonds also appeal to investors because of their scope for capital appreciation. Take for instance a fall in interest rates, in this case bonds which were issued when interest rates were high will become increasingly valuable and as the bond price rises, this provides profit for bond sellers.// In addition, if interest rates had fallen significantly over a period of time, economic growth would be stimulated as lower borrowing costs and savings rates would encourage businesses to invest and households to consume. In such a low interest-rate environment, it may still be good for investors to consider investing some money in bonds because they will be able to achieve a higher return than cash deposits.// Equities and government bonds are well suited to some investors. Younger investors will benefit from equity capital growth because they are generally investing for the longer term and not unduly concerned with the lack of immediate yield. Investors concerned with avoiding risk will be prepared to accept the relatively low yields now available on government bonds.// But many investors fall somewhere between these two extremes. In recent years, financial markets have become increasingly polarized between growth and security. Investors looking for medium and low risk are increasingly turning to the corporate bond market as an alternative to equities and government bonds.//

債券吸引人的一大特點是讓投資者有一筆的固定的收入，到期時能收回借出的資金。債券也有增值的機會，例如在利率下跌時，那些在利率高時發行的債券價格將會升高，讓債券持有人有機會賺取利潤。//此外，如果利率在過去一段時間里明顯下跌，會刺激經濟增長，因為較低的貸款成本和儲蓄利率將鼓勵商家投資，帶動家庭消費。在這樣的低利率環境下，投資人可以考慮把一些資金投資在債券上，因為投資者將取得高于現金存款的回報。//股票和政府債券非常適合某些投資者的胃口。年輕的投資者一般從股票的資本增值中獲益，因為他們通常做長線投資，不太在意眼前的收益。想規避風險的投資者則愿意購買目前收益相對較低的政府債券。//但是很多人選擇在股票和政府債券這兩端之間進行金融投資。今年來金融市場的投資增值與投資安全日趨分化。那些只愿承受中低風險的投資人都轉向公司債券。公司債券是股票和政府債券的理想替代品。//