A number of so-called retail bonds exist in a number of countries of the world. As the name suggests, they are bonds, i.e. have a long term to maturity, and the target market is the retail sector, as opposed to the wholesale sector. This means that the target market is the household sector, and that denominations are small.
Retail bonds are issued by the government sector and the corporate sector. This type of bond offers high returns and a nice income stream. Retail Bonds available to the retail investor are certainly not like savings balances. Investors do don’t have the protection in the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and will the company head out bust, capital could possibly be lost.
