Present Value 1
Present Value 1
Present Value 1
Example :
A city wants to issue $1,000,000 of non-interest-bearing bonds to be repaid $100,000 per year for
10 years. How much should investors be willing to pay for the bonds if they require a 10%
return on their investment?
$100,000 x 6.1446* = $614,460
*6.1446 is the present value of an annuity of $1 for 10 periods at 10% interest.
WHY IT MATTERS:
The concept of present value is one of the most fundamental and pervasive in the world
of finance. It is the basis for stock pricing, bond pricing, financial modeling, banking, insurance,
pension fund valuation, and even lottery payouts. It accounts for the fact that money we receive
today can be invested today to earn a return. In other words, present value accounts for the time
value of money.
In the stock world, calculating present value can be a complex, inexact process that
incorporates assumptions regarding short and long-term growth rates, capital expenditures, return
requirements, and many other factors. Naturally, such variables are impossible to predict with
perfect precision. Regardless, present value provides an estimate of what we should spend today
(e.g., what price we should pay) to have an investment worth a certain amount of money at a
specific point in the future -- this is the basic premise of the math behind most stock- and bondpricing models.
Present value calculations, and similarly future value calculations, are used to value
loans, mortgages, annuities, sinking funds, perpetuities, bonds, and more. These calculations are
used to make comparisons between cash flows that dont occur at simultaneous times,[1] since
time dates must be consistent in order to make comparisons between values. When deciding
between projects in which to invest, the choice can be made by comparing respective present
values of such projects by means of discounting the expected income streams at the
corresponding project interest rate, or rate of return. The project with the highest present value,
i.e. that is most valuable today, should be chosen.
Ordinary annuity is one in which periodic payments are made at the end of each period.
Annuity due is the one in which periodic payments are made at the beginning of each period.
1 (1 + i)-n
PV of an Ordinary Annuity = R
i
1 (1 + i)-n
PV of an Annuity Due = R
(1 + i)
i
Where,
i is the interest rate per compounding period
n is the number of compounding periods
R is the fixed periodic payment.
CONCLUSION:
The concept of present value lies at the core of finance. Every time a business does
something that will result in a future payoff or a future obligation, it must calculate the present
value of the future cash inflow or outflow. Understanding the concept of the time value of money
is crucial, whether you are managing a Laundromat or a multimillion dollar corporation- or even
just balancing your checkbook.