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MARKET STRUCTURE · BOND MARKET ANSWER

Why are some bonds hard to trade?

Some bonds trade infrequently because an issuer has many separate securities, the issue size is small, investors hold the bonds to maturity or dealer inventories are limited.

SHORT ANSWER

The core idea

Some bonds trade infrequently because an issuer has many separate securities, the issue size is small, investors hold the bonds to maturity or dealer inventories are limited.

THE MECHANISM

What is happening underneath

Complex structures and weaker transparency can reduce activity further.

MARKET INTERPRETATION

How investors should read it

A quoted price may therefore not represent the price available for a large immediate transaction.

BONDSTATS TAKEAWAY

The same market move can carry different information depending on which maturity, issuer and risk premium is changing. Read the question together with the underlying concepts rather than treating one price move as a universal signal.

RELATED CONCEPTS
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