Bond Ladder Builder

Reinvestment Cycle (months) is the gap between Shortest Maturity (yrs) and Longest Maturity (yrs) divided across the spaces between rungs -- more Number of Rungs packed into the same maturity range means each rung sits closer to its neighbors, so a bond matures and becomes available to reinvest more often. Fewer rungs across the same range spreads maturities farther apart and lengthens the average time between reinvestment opportunities.

Weighted Avg Maturity is simply the average of each rung's maturity date in years. Average Duration is a simplified interest-rate-sensitivity estimate that divides each rung's maturity by one plus the average yield before averaging -- it's meant as a rough proxy for how much the ladder's value would move if interest rates changed, not an exact Macaulay or modified duration calculated from each bond's actual coupon payments.

No -- Annual Income and Monthly Income are calculated from Total Investment ($) and Average Yield (%) alone, independent of how many rungs that investment is split across. Adding rungs changes Per-Rung Investment (a smaller amount per bond) and the Reinvestment Cycle, but the total interest income the ladder generates stays the same as long as the total invested and average yield don't change.

A wider maturity range extends Weighted Avg Maturity and lengthens the Reinvestment Cycle, meaning fewer opportunities to reinvest at then-current rates but potentially higher yields on the longer-dated rungs if the yield curve is upward-sloping (a factor this calculator's single Average Yield (%) input doesn't separately account for). A narrower range reinvests more often, which can be an advantage if you expect rates to rise and want to capture them sooner.