UPDATE 8.22.23: With bond yields rising higher than they've been for some time, it's a good time to review duration. Bond duration is a measure of the change in price for a bond given a one percentage point change in interest rates. Every time interest rates rise, bond prices fall, and vice versa. Different bonds respond with greater or lesser volatility to changes in interest rates, and the magnitude of that change is measured by the bond's duration. Below is an update to the interest rate table I posted back in March 2022. Look how rates have changed. Investors in bonds today are actually … [Read more...]

Starving for fixed income? Imagine retiring when interest rates were nailed to the floor. We got through it. Now, you’re seeing rates you can sink your teeth into. It’s been a while since I could recommend that retirees begin their journey by considering putting their age in percentage terms in bonds as a portion of their investment portfolio. But that’s exactly what I’m talking about today. Let’s have that conversation. Action Line: If you don’t understand bonds, I understand. You worked for a living. You weren’t a bond king. I’m here when you’re ready to talk. “Oh, That Wasn’t So … [Read more...]

Originally posted June 7, 2023. If you’re starving for fixed income, I can help. I want to help. With interest rates at these levels, we’re seeing a generation opportunity. Don’t let this alligator market lure you into areas where you could lose your precious money. This is not an easy time. It’s downright deceiving. Let’s review. Your government was on the edge of default just days ago and avoided a near disaster (for now). The Federal Reserve is managing interest rates with the equivalent of a wet finger in the air. How about CBDCs where the government controls your currency? Or … [Read more...]

Stocks can stay down for generations. Why wait for stocks to do something for you when you can lock in generational rates today? Action Line: When you’re ready, I can help you. Originally posted on Your Survival Guy.  … [Read more...]

Starving for fixed income? Looking for a stream of cash you can live with and live on? I hear you. When rates are this high, I pay attention. Because with this generational opportunity come lots of decisions. You have a chance to get your lazy cash out of the bank. You have an opportunity to park it in my favored Fidelity Treasury Money Market, yielding around 4.5% today. When you move your lazy cash from the bank and invest it, you get paid a handsome rate for your efforts. Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to work? You turn the tables. You invest. You win. I like that. What about … [Read more...]

Not all fixed income is created equal. Bonds are not all the same. The right one for you must have a margin of safety. Picking the bond that is right for you is job number one. Unfortunately, investors look at how high the yield is first. Safety is something they consider second, if at all. There’s not enough focus on the return of principal. And there’s no excuse for that. People drive all over town for the best price on a gallon of gasoline. Everyone’s looking for “deals.” They jump through hoops to save a couple bucks. But investing? I can’t believe the stuff people buy. Due diligence … [Read more...]

If you’re fairly wealthy, then chances are you have a pile of money you can’t afford to lose. If you’re familiar with Richard C. Young’s Intelligence Report, you know the road to riches is to keep what you make—to focus on the return of assets. You’re familiar with the yeoman’s work Dick Young provided you with each month, including his recommended stocks on his Monster Master List, select preferred stocks, and zero-coupon bond recommendations, to name a few. Today we’re seeing opportunities in fixed income not seen in a generation. For how long this opportunity lasts is anyone’s guess. … [Read more...]

What you’re looking at is a snapshot of the yield curve at certain points in recent history and today. My, how far we’ve come. And hopefully, there’s further to go. But you and I know hope is not a strategy. With that said, if you’re on a fixed income,  take a hard look at locking in some of today’s yields well into tomorrow. If you have lazy cash sitting around, sink your teeth into today’s yields. Remember, it was only three short years ago we were looking at a different landscape. Yields were scraping the bottom, like dredging for bay scallops. Now all of a sudden, rates are … [Read more...]