Just so there is no misunderstanding – if you buy a $1000 10-year bond @ 3.5% and hold it to maturity, you will collect $350 in interest over 10 years and then you’ll get your $1000 back, and it does not matter in the slightest what happens to 10-year rates.
Furthermore, if you buy a 10-year bond now and then sell it 5 years from now, and invest the proceeds into a 5-year bond at whatever the interest rate is in 2015, by 2020 you will still have $1350, give or take a few dollars.
In essence, by buying a 10-year bond you get a promise of a 35% return over 10 years and you’re hedged from both upward and downward fluctuations in yields for that period of time.
