Bond total return
The outcome of holding over a period: coupons, the change in price and the income earned on the coupons received, taken together.
How to read the number
This is the figure comparable with the result of other assets. Yield to maturity answers a different question — what happens if the bond is held all the way.
When the metric lies
Over a horizon shorter than the bond's life the result is driven by price, not by coupon. An issue with a high yield to maturity can close the year down if rates rose.
Also known as: holding period return, total return of a bond