Good informational article on new bond etfs if you are trying to figure out how to allocate the bond portion of your portfolio. I believe #2 and #5 are worth looking at. #2 if you are convinced rates are headed higher but still struggling to pick up yield, #5 if you believe active management can beat the overall bond market.
FYI: I am not a fan of buying individual bonds because of their illiquidity and believe ETFs are definitely the way to go in bond land. Still I will put out a piece down the road explaining how to find the most recent price specific bonds have traded at for those interested in buying individual bonds.
One of my comments so far on your site (which I allowed to nitpick as your daughter), is that maybe every other post could cater slightly more to the "newbie" DIY investor. It's harder for me to digest some of the information on here, because, for example, I have no idea what a Bond ETF is. I think part of what scares potential investors is not knowing what certain terminology even means. For example, I believe that most people I work with, myself included, do not know exactly how our retirement funds even work. And so part of the hesitation in my understanding investing is that it seems like another part-time job, at the very least, just to understand it all. What is the best way for a new investor to begin to understand things in layman's terms?
ReplyDeleteHi Belle,
ReplyDeleteGood points. When I learn how to put categories up I'll make a "beginners category". Actually, there are a lot of sites that cater to beginners but at least I can put links in to investopedia etc. to help and from time-to-time put beginner posts up.
As for the people you work with, they should schedule an hour with me. At $150/hour it might be the best investment they ever make.
As for you, you don't have to worry, I'm managing your money.
Question for you: when are the Nats going to start winning? Don't they have enough sense not to open against the Phillies?
Well at least the Nats have nowhere to go but up...
ReplyDeleteSeeking Alpha is a great site for picking up ideas, though the discussions can be a bit more shallow than I'd like.
ReplyDeleteBoth the Nats and the Orioles have nowhere to go but up.
Robert, I understand your point about the difficult in buying individual bonds, but what do you think of buying Treasuries through Treasurydirect.gov? They are pretty much a commodity, managers can add little to no value, so why incur any costs at all to own them other than the pain of setting up the account with the Treasury?
ReplyDeleteI like Treasury Direct. It is very easy to keep track of investments, reinvest, and get interest wired to checking accounts.
ReplyDelete