Bond Ladder Planner
What this ladder models
Add up to 12 fixed-rate bond rungs. Each rung uses its entered face value, price, coupon, maturity, and payment frequency. The planner assumes every rung remains outstanding to its entered maturity.
The example inputs are illustrative, not a recommended ladder. Grizzly Bulls does not look up bonds, yields, ratings, prices, call schedules, or issuer data for this planner.
Ladder summary
Bond rungs
Market price is the dollar amount paid for the same face value entered on that row. Maturity is limited to whole years so the ladder can produce an auditable annual principal-return schedule.
| Rung | Face value | Market price | Coupon % | Years to maturity | Coupons / year | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Annual coupon and principal schedule
Coupon income is the entered annual coupon cash flow from bonds still outstanding during that year. Principal is returned at each entered maturity. Matured principal is not automatically reinvested.
| Year | Coupon income | Principal maturing | Total modeled cash flow | Principal remaining after year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $1,350.00 | $10,000.00 | $11,350.00 | $20,000.00 |
| Year 2 | $950.00 | $0.00 | $950.00 | $20,000.00 |
| Year 3 | $950.00 | $10,000.00 | $10,950.00 | $10,000.00 |
| Year 4 | $500.00 | $0.00 | $500.00 | $10,000.00 |
| Year 5 | $500.00 | $10,000.00 | $10,500.00 | $0.00 |
Rung analytics
Yield and duration for each rung use the same fixed-rate bond math as the Bond Yield & Duration Calculator.
| Rung | Maturity | Market cost | Face value | Current yield | YTM | Modified duration | Principal share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-year rung | 1 year | $10,000.00 | $10,000.00 | 4% | 4% | 0.97 years | 33.33% |
| 3-year rung | 3 years | $10,000.00 | $10,000.00 | 4.5% | 4.5% | 2.78 years | 33.33% |
| 5-year rung | 5 years | $10,000.00 | $10,000.00 | 5% | 5% | 4.38 years | 33.33% |
What the aggregate yield and duration mean
The ladder's YTM, modified duration, and average maturity are market-value-weighted summaries of the entered rungs. They are descriptive aggregates, not a single portfolio internal rate of return. Different rungs can have different coupon schedules and maturity dates, so the planner keeps their individual bond calculations visible instead of collapsing the ladder into one synthetic bond.
Starting current yield equals total entered annual coupon cash flow divided by total entered market cost. Coupon income then declines as modeled rungs mature because this planner does not reinvest principal into replacement bonds.
Important ladder limits
This is a cash-flow planning model, not a bond recommendation or inventory search. It does not model defaults, credit-rating changes, changing market prices, taxes, transaction costs, inflation, coupon reinvestment, maturity reinvestment, sinking funds, or issuer-specific liquidity.
The schedule also assumes each rung survives to the entered maturity. If a bond is callable, use the Bond Yield & Duration Calculator to inspect one entered call scenario. This ladder planner does not treat a single call date as a complete callable-bond schedule or silently substitute a call date for maturity.