A fixed deposit (FD) is a financial instrument provided by banks or NBFCs which provides investors a higher rate of interest than a regular savings account, until the given maturity date. It may or may not require the creation of a separate account.
A bond is a fixed income instrument that represents a loan made by an investor to a borrower (typically corporate or governmental). ... Bonds are used by companies, municipalities, states, and sovereign governments to finance projects and operations. Owners of bonds are debtholders, or creditors, of the issuer.
A debenture is a type of debt instrument that is not backed by any collateral and usually has a term greater than 10 years. Debentures are backed only by the creditworthiness and reputation of the issuer. Both corporations and governments frequently issue debentures to raise capital or funds.
Preference shares, more commonly referred to as preferred stock, are shares of a company's stock with dividends that are paid out to shareholders before common stock dividends are issued. ... Most preference shares have a fixed dividend, while common stocks generally do not.