What does the Federal Reserve's policy rate cut mean for our portfolios? Will interest rates keep falling? What changes should we make? Topics covered include: What determines interest rates, and where are those drivers currently What is the best estimate of bond returns How duration works and why it changes What are some current fixed income investment options Show Notes Asset Camp FedWatch—CME Group Summary of Economic Projections—US Federal … [Read more...]
445 Plus: More on Estimating Bond Fund Returns and Spin-Off Investing
In Plus episode 445, we reference an academic study as we try to better explain why the starting yield to maturity is a good estimate of a bond fund's or ETF's annualized return if the holding period is long enough. We also explore spin-off investing in which a parent company divests a division or subsidiary. We review how the parent and child companies perform. … [Read more...]
418: Bond Investing Masterclass
What you need to know to confidently invest in bonds. Topics covered include: Key components of bond investing include face value, coupon rates, yield-to-maturity, duration, and convexity How to decide between owning longer-term or short-term bonds How to decide whether to own individual bonds or bond funds and ETFs When to use active bond management versus bond indexing How bullet bond ETFs work and when to use them How to know when to invest in municipal bonds and … [Read more...]
249 Plus: Mid Month Update, More on Options, and a Bond Duration Review
In Plus episode 249 for the week of April 20, 2019, we review market conditions as of mid April including performance, recent economic releases and what needs to happen for the market rally to continue. We also continue our discussion from Plus Episode 246 in analyzing the CBOE WisdomTree CBOE S&P 500 PutWrite Strategy Fund including the discussion of delta, notional value and why the strategy might be used. Finally, we review the concept of duration and price changes for bonds fund … [Read more...]
225: How To Invest In Bonds and Other Fixed Income Securities
How to evaluate interest rate risk, credit risk and other factors when investing in bonds. Photo by Wes Hicks In this episode you’ll learn: What determines interest rates.What determines the performance of fixed income investments.How to estimate the return of fixed income holdings.The tradeoff between owning individual bonds or bond funds/ETFs Show Notes Eaton Vance Bank Loan Chart Book Annual Default Study: Corporate Default and Recovery Rates, 1920 - 2017 - … [Read more...]
224 Plus: October 2018 Portfolio Review and Longer-Term Bonds
This week October 5, 2018, we review the model portfolios and discuss the recent change in the models and David's portfolio in terms of swapping DoubleLine Bond Funds. We also look at what conditions would justify investing in longer-term bonds. … [Read more...]
175 Plus: Can A Bond Fund Lose Money? Updates on Wunder and Peer-to-Peer Lending
This week October 6, 2017 on Money For the Rest of Us Plus, we look at how long it would take a long duration bond fund to recover losses from rising interest rates. We look at the unique structure of Wunder Capital's new fund. I provide an update on peer-to-peer lending performance and finally we look at an exchange traded note tied to the performance of closed end funds. … [Read more...]
MNY150 Plus: Asset Allocation Example, Managed Futures and Bonds
This week March 25, 2017 on Money For the Rest of Us Plus we walk through the process of breaking down a portfolio to determine its asset allocation, expected return, risk and fees. We also discuss managed futures and the challenge of estimating the impact of a bond fund's duration on performance over multiple quarters. … [Read more...]
133: Interest Rates Are Rising. Four Things You Can Do
Here are four investment strategies investors can use to avoid losses due to rising interest rates. Photo by Pedro Lasta In this episode you'll learn: The importance of focusing on the present Why bond prices fluctuate as interest rates change. What fixed income strategies avoid interest rate risks. Show Notes Fraying At The Edges by N.R. Kleinfield - New York Times Essays In Idleness - Yoshida Kenko MNY52: Why Interest Rates Are So Low iShares iBonds … [Read more...]
