Time Value of Money

Time Value of Money

One might know that time is one of the most valuable assets in our lives. In the financial world the value of money is linked to time, primarily because investors expect progressive returns on their cash over periods of time, and they always compare the return from certain investments with the going or average returns in the market. Inflation on other hand erodes the purchasing power of money causing future value of one dollar to be less than the present value of a dollar. This paper will examine time value of money and the applications that determine successes or failures. An examination of the different vehicles that can be used to generate financial security for corporations and individuals will be provided. After defining the applications that generalize time value of money, an explanation will be offered regarding the components of interest rates by expanding on the concept that interest rate equates the future value of money with present value.

Time Value of Money Applications

Capital markets are markets “where people, companies, and governments with more funds than they need (because they save some of their income) transfer those funds to people, companies, or governments who have a shortage of funds (because they spend more than their income)” (Woepking, ¶3). The two major capital markets are stock and bond markets. Capital markets promote economic efficiency by moving funds from those who do not have an immediate need for it to those who do. Individuals or companies will put money at risk if the return on the intended investment is greater than the return of holding risk-free assets. An example of this would be those that invest in real estate or purchase stocks and bonds. Those that invest want the stock, bond, or real estate to grow in value or appreciate. An example of this concept would be if an individual or company invested an amount saved over the course of a year. While investing may be riskier, these individuals hope that the investment will yield a greater return than leaving the money in a savings account drawing nominal interest. In this example the companies that issue the stocks or bonds have spending needs that exceed their income so the company will finance their spending needs by issuing securities in the capital markets. This is a method of direct finance because the “companies borrowed directly by issuing securities to investors in the capital markets” (Woepking, ¶5).

Opposite of direct financing is indirect financing which involves a “financial intermediary between the borrower and the investor” (Woepking, ¶8). Banks would be an example of the intermediary because they may loan out money that an individual or company has left in a savings account. The capital marketplace could not exist without these intermediaries as they are what help create strong economies.

Stocks and bonds are commonly called securities “because they both represent obligations on the part of issuers to provide purchasers with expected or stated returns on the funds invested or loaned” (Boone and Kurtz, p. 688). In the primary market firms issue securities and sell them initially to the public. When a company needs capital to expand a plant, develop products, acquire another firm, or pursue other business opportunities, it may make a stock or bond offering which gives investors the opportunity to purchase ownership shares in the firm and to take part in its future growth in exchange for providing current capital. Netscape and Yahoo! are examples of companies that have grown because of a stock offering in the primary market called initial public offering.

Government agencies will also use primary markets to raise funds by issuing bonds. The federal government also uses primary markets when they sell U.S. Treasury bonds to finance part of the budget deficit as well as state and local governments will issue municipal bonds to finance long-term capital projects in a community. A long-term capital project might be building a new school or park. Secondary markets consist of a “collection of places where previously issued shares of stock and bonds are traded among owners other than the issuing firms” (Boone and Kurtz, p. 690).

A corporate security that represents the ownership or debt of a company is a stock or bond. The basic form of ownership in a business is the common stock. Purchasers of common stock expect to be paid dividends and/or capital gains that result from the increases in the value of the stock they hold. The value of the stock sold on either par value or no-par value cannot be confused with two other types of stock value, market and book value. The par value of a stock is an arbitrary value for the stock designated by the company. Since par value is arbitrary, most companies will issue no-par value stock. Market value of stock is