Planning to invest in bonds for the first time through BondScanner. Not looking for “highest return” just don’t want to make a stupid mistake.
What are the top 3–4 things I should actually check?
You could look at ratings, tenure and nature of payouts (monthly/quarterly etc). I prefer NBFCs in the BBB+ segment since their assets are fungible and can be sold during distress periods.
Safety wise I bucket everything from BBB to AA in the same bucket. AAA is different grade of safety.
I like shorter tenure, anything BBB and more, and monthly payouts since it’s reducing risk in many ways. Especially if there is a quarterly principal payout then it’s even better for someone like me.