This Exam FM sample reference tests Cross-Frequency Bond Pricing. The quarterly par bond fixes Bond Y at 1073.78. Bond Y's premium implies n = 15 years. Bond X then costs 934.90, and its annual price equation yields R = 54.60, choice E.
How to solve this Cross-Frequency Bond Pricing question
Setup
Setup
Bond Z's quarterly coupon rate equals the nominal yield rate, so its price is par. Convert the quarterly yield to semiannual and annual effective rates.
PZ=1,000
js=(1.015)2−1=0.030225
ia=(1.015)4−1=0.06136355
Model
Model
The price differences give P_Y = 1073.78 and P_X = 934.90. Use Bond Y's premium to identify its semiannual term.
73.78=(34−1,000js)a2n∣js
2n=30,n=15
Compute
Compute
Price Bond X over the 15-year annual schedule and solve for R.
934.90=Ra15∣ia+1,000(1+ia)−15
R=54.6005
Answer
Answer
The annual coupon is 54.60, choice E.
R≈54.60(E)
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All 461 Exam FM sample solutions in syllabus order
The searchable 2210-page manual includes this complete solution, its error analysis, and one original worked variant for every active reference.
These notes identify the calculation error associated with each wrong letter when that error is reproducible.
AChoice A converts the 6% nominal quarterly rate to a 6% annual effective yield.
BChoice B uses 3% exactly as the semiannual yield instead of compounding two 1.5% quarters.
CChoice C solves Bond X with a 30-year term rather than the inferred 15-year term.
DChoice D rounds Bond Y's price and the frequency conversions before solving the annual coupon.
Original practice · fully worked
Original variant: term from a semiannual bond price
A 1,000 redemption-value bond pays 25 every half-year and yields a nominal annual rate of 4.02% convertible semiannually. Its price is 1,080.0448. Determine the bond's term in years.
A 5 years
B 8 years
C 10 years
D 12 years
E 20 years
Variant answer in brief
The half-year yield is 2.01%. Solving the bond price equation gives 20 coupon periods, which is a 10-year term, choice C.
Setup
Setup
Convert the nominal yield to the half-year period used by coupons.
j=0.0402/2=0.0201
Model
Model
Let N be the number of semiannual coupon periods.
1,080.0448=25aN∣0.0201+1,000(1.0201)−N
Compute
Compute
Solving the monotone price equation gives N = 20.
N=20
Answer
Answer
Twenty half-year periods equal 10 years, choice C.
n=N/2=10 years(C)
Calculator reproduction
BA II Plus keystrokes
2.01 · I/Y; 1080.0448 · +/− · PV; 25 · PMT; 1000 · FV; CPT · N20.00N counts half-year coupon periods; divide by two for years.
The 2210-page Financial Mathematics Proof Manual reorganizes 461 verified Exam FM solutions by syllabus skill and adds formula proofs, error patterns, and original worked practice.