Buying treasuries on the secondary market from brokerages can confuse some people. When you select a fixed income/bond/treasury trade it displayed bonds and their maturity, yield, etc. it does often show a high minimum but in most cases you can buy as little as 1 bond. A bond's price is usually shown something like 97.64 but the actual price is $976.4 since par is $1000.00. Depending on the brokerage, usually there is a way to see the price of buying smaller quantities. At Fidelity it is called Depth of Book and when you click it it shows prices for various quantities.

I've purchased and sold quite a few over the last 18 months. Recently I had to sell a bunch to pay for a house and the process was pretty easy. I'm not a fan of Treasury direct so I don't use it much and prefer to buy most bonds (maybe not TIPS, although I don't really own any of them) on the secondary market which is quite efficient.

Although I'm sure there are many reasons, one reason mutual fund don't allow purchase by foreigners is the headache of dealer with foreign securities laws. Also there is an proof of identity you have to go through.

Berkshire Hathaway FAQ

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