(1) Cause it does NOT lend itself to trading and commissions?
(2) Buy the "right" bond and you get your prinicple and interest back. That's not exciting. No capital gains! No doubles, triples, or better.
(3) It ain't sexy. It's for the old folks and the poor.
For example, many many moons ago, I had some tax deferred money to roll over. When I did, I made what was in retrospect a very smart decision. I bought a bunch of those new fangled zero coupon bonds. Treasuries minus the coupons. Toxic waste they were called at the time. I bought all the broker's inventory for the year I turn 66 (don't ask). And when I still had money left, I bought some more for the following year. I remember the broker shaking his head at my insistence. They carried a high coupon. Treasuries meant little risk; as little risk as one could buy. I put them in the old brokerage account and virtually forgot about them. With treasuries now paying less than 5%, it turned out to be a dream. When I do retire, they will be worth over 200k for a 35k investment. Zero risk. No worry. Moral of the story, the broker, like your government, ain't your friend. He's a used car dealer without a good product. So bonds have an important place in a well-diversified portfolio. And, that doesn't mean bond fund. It means real bonds! Date certain maturity is the key phrase.
Reinke Faces Life 