Quicken Mac - Choice of Bond Pricing: PV of holding to maturity vs market value

Robert_TX

Quicken uses the current market value of a bond, potentially showing "losses" when the market value is down, even though you intend to hold the bond to maturity. Quicken should support an option to price bonds one of two ways:

1. Use the current market value. Used when the bond will not be held to maturity and could be traded at any time. ie. I bought a 5 year bond and plan to trade it before it matures, thus the value fluctuates with the market price.
2. Use the Present Value (PV) of a bond being held to maturity, taking into account the bond's rate and maturity date. ie. I have a 5 year bond at 4.8% that is being held to maturity. The PV is an easy calc and changes daily over the life of the bond.

The #2 scenario should NEVER show a "loss" in Quicken, even if interest rates rise to 5+%, as the bond does not lose money if held to maturity and should never show as a loss in Quicken's investment portfolio. Switching the setting to #1 would change the value to be based on market price and could show a loss based on market conditions.

Thus, let the user determine their strategy so their investment account balance and trend is more accurate based on their intent.