This article focuses on how to buy United States treasury bonds on Fidelity. Investors who buy bonds online can search for Fidelity bonds and make trades with the click of a few buttons. Investors can find Treasury bills, banknotes, and bonds posted with active bids and offers.
To buy bonds on Fidelity, you need to log into your brokerage account and visit the Fixed Income section, where Fidelity will show you an overview of current interest rates on approximately 75,000 fixed-income investments, from indirect CDs to high-yield corporate bonds.
The U.S. Treasury doesn’t allow anyone to buy Series I bonds, so you’ll need to check if you’re eligible to buy them. Here’s how to buy Series I bonds, how these inflation-linked investments work, and what you need to be aware of. If you’re looking for an investment with high-interest rates, inflation protection, and strong government support, Series I bonds may be an attractive addition to your portfolio.
While you can buy TreasuryDirect bonds at any time in the secondary market, I prefer to buy freshly issued Treasury bonds because you don’t have to pay the bid-ask spread when you buy new issues. You can also buy “used” government bonds in the secondary market, but you will have to pay the bid/ask spread there. Buying on the secondary market also makes it easier to sell Treasury bills later.
Fidelity does not charge a fee (or surcharge) on secondary purchases of US Treasuries when made online. When a bond is sold or redeemable, the gain from buying the bond at a market discount is treated as a capital gain and the gain from OID is treated as a form of income.
In addition, Treasury bonds are fully trusted and credit-backed by the government, with a minimum investment of only $1,000, exempt from state and local income tax, and you can purchase using your existing brokerage account. You can buy newly issued Treasuries through the top three brokerage firms Fidelity, Vanguard, and Schwab at no cost. You can also buy Treasury bills by investing in Treasury money market mutual funds. A TreasuryDirect account allows you to purchase bonds, including EE Series bonds, as well as U.S. Treasuries, Treasury Bills, Treasury Bills, and TIPS directly from the government.
If you already have a TreasuryDirect Bond account, you can use the same account to buy regular treasury bonds, but it’s easier to buy them from a broker. When you are in a TreasuryDirect account, you can select “BuyDirect” and then select the Series I bonds and the amount you want to buy. Once your order is completed, your TreasuryDirect account will contain your bonds and you can view them there at any time.