How is the process of buying bonds different from the process of buying stocks?

Question

How is the process of buying bonds different from the process of buying stocks?

Answer 1

the process is basically the same.  you can do it through nearly any broker.

the only thing to be wary of is that bond quotes are not like stock quotes.

with stocks, whatever the quoted price is, that's what it costs.

it's much trickier with bonds because you owe the person you're buying from a proportional piece of the next coupon payment, based on his holding period.  this gets very tricky if you don't understand the mechanics of how bonds are quoted, but a good broker can walk you through everything if you're a novice.