— Data hub · FRED
Valuation data from FRED
• Part 1 of 4 · Rates
• Part 2 of 4 · Credit
Constant-maturity Treasury yields, TIPS real yields and breakeven inflation, daily since the 1960s for the 10-year yield.
Corporate bond option-adjusted spreads by rating and the VIX, for the cost of debt and option inputs.
• Part 3 of 4 · Vintages
• Part 4 of 4 · Terms
ALFRED
Free, with citation
Every revision kept, so a series can be read as it stood on the valuation date rather than as revised later.
Most series are public domain with citation requested; some third-party series carry copyright limits on sharing.
■ FRED · Getting started
How FRED works
Each FRED series has a code, a source, units, a frequency and release notes. Knowing these five fields is what lets a valuer cite a rate precisely and defend the date it refers to.
Finding a series
Dates, units and citation
Search: type a code such as DGS10 or words such as '10-year treasury' in FRED; the series page shows the source release and notes.
Observation date: a daily yield is dated to the trading day it was observed. For a valuation date on a weekend or holiday, use the last trading day before it and say so.
Releases: browse by release, for example H.15 Selected Interest Rates, to see every rate the Federal Reserve publishes together.
Units: yields are in percent per year on a bond-equivalent basis; check whether a series is daily, weekly average or monthly average before comparing it with another.
Downloads: every series exports to CSV or Excel with its notes; keep the file in the working papers with the download date.
Citation: FRED gives a suggested citation on each series page, naming the original source, the series code and the date retrieved.
API: a free API key gives programmatic access to series and vintages for models that update automatically.
Copyright: most series are public domain, but some (for example ICE BofA indices) are copyrighted by their provider; read the notes before redistributing the data.
Example: for a valuation at 30 September 2026, the valuer records DGS10 for that day from FRED, cites 'Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 10-Year Constant Maturity [DGS10], retrieved from FRED' and files the CSV.
Practice tip: the risk-free rate in Valuvix calculators is Damodaran's US 10-year Treasury yield less the US default spread. If you take the yield from FRED instead, apply the same convention so that the ERP and the risk-free rate stay consistent.
■ FRED · Rates
Risk-free rates, real rates and inflation
The risk-free rate should match the currency and duration of the cash flows. FRED covers the US curve in full and gives long-term government yields for many OECD economies.
Nominal and real yields
Inflation expectations
Breakeven inflation: the gap between nominal and TIPS yields (T10YIE), a market view of US inflation used to convert USD rates into other currencies.
Real yields: TIPS yields (DFII10) for valuations built on real cash flows.
Survey expectations: the Cleveland Fed's expected inflation series and the Survey of Professional Forecasters give longer-horizon expectations for cross-checks.
Other countries: OECD long-term government bond yields, for example IRLTLT01DEM156N for Germany, monthly averages for many OECD economies.
Consumer prices: CPIAUCSL and the core index for the US, plus OECD CPI series for other countries, to measure historical inflation.
Policy rates: the effective federal funds rate and other central-bank rates give the short end of the curve.
Consistency: inflation inputs for the local-currency conversion in the Valuvix cost of equity and WACC calculators should come from the same date as the risk-free rate.
Example: a 10-year USD cash-flow forecast is discounted with the 10-year Treasury yield; a 20-year infrastructure forecast uses the 20-year yield, both read on the valuation date.
Practice tip: OECD series on FRED are monthly averages, not end-of-month rates. Where the valuation needs a spot rate, take it from the central bank or the national debt office instead.
■ FRED · Credit
Credit spreads, volatility and exchange rates
Market credit spreads support the cost of debt and the reasonableness of a synthetic rating; volatility and exchange rates feed option models and currency conversions.
Credit and volatility
Exchange rates
Corporate spreads: ICE BofA option-adjusted spreads by rating, for example BAMLC0A4CBBB for BBB, to cross-check the spread from a synthetic rating.
Daily reference rates: Federal Reserve H.10 rates such as DEXUSEU (dollars per euro) for converting values and inputs at the valuation date.
High yield: BAMLH0A0HYM2 for sub-investment-grade spreads, relevant to distressed or highly leveraged subjects.
Direction of the quote: some FRED rates are dollars per foreign unit and others foreign units per dollar; check the units line before dividing.
Volatility: VIXCLS gives the market's implied volatility, useful context for the volatility input of option models and the DLOM.
Coverage: H.10 covers major currencies only; for others use the central bank's rate or the IMF exchange rates covered in the IMF guide.
Copyright: ICE BofA series carry copyright limits; cite them and avoid republishing long histories.
Broad indices: the nominal and real broad dollar indices show the dollar's overall movement over a forecast period.
Example: a synthetic rating of BBB gives a company spread from Damodaran's table; the valuer compares it with the BBB option-adjusted spread on FRED at the valuation date and explains any material gap.
Practice tip: option-adjusted spreads are measured over Treasuries for bonds of many maturities; they are a cross-check on a synthetic spread, not a replacement for evidence on the subject's own borrowing.
■ FRED · Quality control
Vintages, revisions and common pitfalls
Macro series are revised after publication. A valuation as at a past date should rest on inputs known or knowable at that date, which is what ALFRED provides.
Using ALFRED
Pitfalls
ALFRED: ALFRED stores every vintage of a series, so GDP or inflation can be read as published on the valuation date.
Averages: monthly or annual figures may be averages of daily values; a valuation date needs a point-in-time rate.
Market data: daily market yields are rarely revised; vintages matter mainly for GDP, inflation and employment data.
Discontinued series: some series stop or change source; check the last observation date before using a series.
Retrospective valuations: record the vintage date used; a revised figure that was not known at the valuation date should not drive the conclusion.
Rounding: FRED shows yields to two decimals; keep the downloaded precision in models and round only in the report.
Working papers: save the series code, units, frequency, observation date and retrieval date for each input.
Third-party data: FRED republishes data from other providers; the original source remains the one to cite.
Example: for a valuation as at 31 December 2024 prepared in 2026, the valuer reads 2024 GDP growth from the ALFRED vintage published before the valuation date, not from today's revised series.
Practice tip: add the FRED retrieval date to the input register of each Valuvix calculator so that a reviewer can reproduce the rate.
✱ Source and attribution
Data from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Series on this page are published on FRED by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and come from the original sources named on each series page. Cite the original source, the series code and the retrieval date. Some series are copyrighted by third parties and carry their own terms. Valuvix is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Related Valuvix calculators: Risk-Free Rate, Cost of Equity, Cost of Debt, Cost Approach, Terminal Value.