<p>The <b>DURATION</b> function is one of the financial functions. It is used to calculate the Macaulay duration of a security with an assumed par value of $100.</p>
<pstyle="text-indent: 50px;"><b><em>settlement</em></b> is the date when the security is purchased.</p>
<pstyle="text-indent: 50px;"><b><em>maturity</em></b> is the date when the security expires.</p>
<pstyle="text-indent: 50px;"><b><em>coupon</em></b> is the annual coupon rate of the security.</p>
<pstyle="text-indent: 50px;"><b><em>yld</em></b> is the annual yield of the security.</p>
<pstyle="text-indent: 50px;"><b><em>frequency</em></b> is the number of interest payments per year. The possible values are: 1 for annual payments, 2 for semiannual payments, 4 for quarterly payments.</p>
<pstyle="text-indent: 50px;"><b><em>basis</em></b> is the day count basis to use, a numeric value greater than or equal to 0, but less than or equal to 4. It is an optional argument. It can be one of the following:</p>
<tablestyle="width: 40%">
<tr>
<td><b>Numeric value</b></td>
<td><b>Count basis</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>0</td>
<td>US (NASD) 30/360</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1</td>
<td>Actual/actual</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2</td>
<td>Actual/360</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3</td>
<td>Actual/365</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>4</td>
<td>European 30/360</td>
</tr>
</table>
<pclass="note"><b>Note:</b> dates must be entered by using the DATE function.</p>
<p>The values can be entered manually or included into the cell you make reference to.</p>
<p>To apply the <b>DURATION</b> function,</p>
<ol>
<li>select the cell where you wish to display the result,</li>