2. Go on a Treasury diet and bulk up on other types of bonds.
As investors have been slowly shifting out of low-yielding Treasury bonds - the shelter of choice in last year's market storm - into higher-returning assets, Treasury prices have fallen this year. The result: Long-term government bond mutual funds are down 12.6% on average*, making them one of the poorest- performing fund categories year to date.
Worse, losses could continue if there are signs of an economic recovery or inflation ahead. So rebalance your fixed-income portfolio by shifting some money out of debt issued by Uncle Sam and putting it into other bonds. Both high-grade corporate bonds and high-quality municipals are offering much higher yields than Treasuries (corporates are yielding around twice as much).
In this environment, "no more than 20% of your bond portfolio should be in Treasuries," says New York financial planner Karen Altfest. An easy way to gain exposure to munis and corporate bonds is through a professionally managed fixed-income fund, such as those found in the Money 70, our recommended list of funds.
Worse, losses could continue if there are signs of an economic recovery or inflation ahead. So rebalance your fixed-income portfolio by shifting some money out of debt issued by Uncle Sam and putting it into other bonds. Both high-grade corporate bonds and high-quality municipals are offering much higher yields than Treasuries (corporates are yielding around twice as much).
In this environment, "no more than 20% of your bond portfolio should be in Treasuries," says New York financial planner Karen Altfest. An easy way to gain exposure to munis and corporate bonds is through a professionally managed fixed-income fund, such as those found in the Money 70, our recommended list of funds.
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