How to Obtain the Government Risk Free Rate of Return
- 1). Go to the U.S. Treasury Office of Debt Management. Click on Daily Treasury Yield Curve Rates. The yield curve is a chart that relates the yield on a security to the time it will mature. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York provides the information for the curve.
- 2). Review the chart. On the top of the chart is a list of maturities from one month to 30 years. Scan down the right hand side of the chart for dates associated with that yield. Yields change due to market demand as well as interest rates announcements from the Fed. Rates will be rising or falling depending on the current market.
- 3). Determine which rate you need to use. This depends on the security you are comparing. Often analysts use the risk free rate to see how much of a premium must be paid for other investments. This is referred to as a "risk premium."
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