Corporate and municipal bonds are traded on a commission basis by most securities brokers and commercial banks. T-bonds can also be bought and sold through banks and securities dealers for a nominal fee, or without paying a fee through Federal Reserve Banks or the government's Bureau of Public Debt, which has setup a Treasury Direct program for investors who find paying commissions too onerous and other sources of buying and selling too much of a hassle.
With Treasury Direct, individual investors who want to purchase, redeem, or reinvest all kinds of Treasury securities can call 1-800-943-6864 and establish an account. Principal and interest payments are made electronically by direct deposit to the bank of their choice.
Unlike most municipal and corporate bonds, which are traded over the counter, prices of most outstanding (previously issued) U.S. Treasury bonds traded on the secondary market are posted daily in the pages of the financial press and most major newspapers around the country.
New T-bonds are sold through Federal Reserve Banks at auctions where prices are determined by competitive bid. These auctions are generally held the second week of February, August, and November, and issued to purchasers on the fifteenth of those months, unless the fifteenth falls on a weekend or holiday, in which case the securities are issued the following business day.
Information about upcoming auctions can be obtained by contacting the thirty-six Federal Reserve Banks that handle Treasury securities, or the government's Bureau of Public Debt Web site on the internet (http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov).
