A borrower, or the specific debt instrument or class of debt of a borrower, given a rating from one of the major rating agencies of Baa3 / BBB- or higher.

A term used to describe bonds considered to be safe investments. They carry credit ratings of Baa3 and higher from Moody's and BBB- and higher from Standard & Poor's and Fitch. Bonds with ratings below investment grade are known as high yield bonds, junk bonds or speculative grade bonds.

When a bond is rated investment grade, its issuer is considered able to meet its obligations, exposing bondholders to minimal default risk.Most US corporate and municipal bonds are rated by independent services such as Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's (S&P). The ratings are based on a number of criteria, inclu [..]

A security that, in the opinion of the rating agency, has a relatively low risk of default. See: RATINGS. Compare: HIGH-YIELD BOND; NON-INVESTMENT GRADE; NON-RATED SECURITY. 

the obligation has been determined to be in one of the top four generic lettered rating classifications by a securities rating agency acceptable to the commissioner, that the obligation has been ident [..]

Bonds considered suitable for preservation of invested capital; ordinarily, those rated Baa3 or better by Moody’s Investors Service, or BBB- or better by Standard & Poor’s Corporation (see "ratings").

A rating given to a municipal or corporate bond. It is a relatively favorable rating by either Moody’s or Standard & Poor’s indicating a higher chance an issuer performs interest and principal obl [..]

A bond judged likely enough to meet payment obligations that banks are allowed to invest in it. Ratings by Moody's and Standard & Poor's are given below:  

A bond rating evaluating the likelihood that the bond issuer will meet their payment responsibilities in full and on time. Bonds rated BBB and higher by an independent agency are considered investment [..]

An investment rating level of BBB- or better from Standard & Poor’s Corporation or Baa3 or better from Moody’s Corporation.

Debt securities that have a credit rating high enough for them to be purchased by most institutional investors. Debts rated by Standard & Poor’s at BBB and above and by Moody’s to Baa3 are considered to be investment grade securities that provide adequate financial protection to meet their obligations.

High-quality bonds

According to 12 CFR 1.2 [Title 12 Banks and Banking; Chapter I Comptroller Of the Currency, Department of the Treasury; Part 1 Investment Securities]Investment grade means “a security that is rated in [..]

Describes the top four rating categories of relatively secure bonds suitable for a conservative investor. Standard & Poor's rating service looks upon all bonds between the AAA and BBB ratings as investment grade. Generally speaking, any bonds rated below BBB are considered to have speculative features and are deemed sub-investment grade or [..]

A bond rating evaluating the likelihood that the bond issuer will meet their payment responsibilities in full and on time. Bonds rated BBB and higher by an independent agency are considered investment grade.

A bond rating evaluating the likelihood that the bond issuer will meet their payment responsibilities in full and on time. Bonds rated BBB and higher by an independent agency are considered investment [..]

In the case of fixed income, a bond with a rating of BBB or higher. In the case of a stock, a firm that has a strong balance sheet, considerable capitalization, and is recognized as a leader in its industry.

Investment-grade obligations are those rated at the time of purchase AAA, AA, A or BBB by S&P, Aaa, Aa, A or Baa by Moody's or which are similarly rated by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization or are unrated but deemed by the Adviser to be comparable in quality to instruments that are so rated. Back To To [..]

Rating given to a company as a result of an evaluation made by credit-risk rating agencies such as Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.

This refers to the highest range of credit ratings, from ‘AAA’ to ‘BBB’ as measured by external credit rating agencies.

A credit rating which means that a government or corporate bond has a relatively low risk of default.

An investment situation in which a firm has a strong balance sheet, considerable capitalization, and continuous dividends, and is recognized as a leader in its industry.

In the context of bond ratings, the rating level above which institutional investors have been authorized to invest.