Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with long technical names often use catchy or easy-to-remember symbols in order to bolster their marketability as well as indicate their portfolios. (NYSE: MUNI) is the ticker for Pimco Intermediate Muni Bond Strategy ETF which invests in municipal bonds, while (NYSE: CORN) represents Teucrium Corn Fund ETF that tracks the price of corn.
What if you are buying a short- to intermediate-term bond fund, not the bond itself?
Osterweis Strategic Income has more credit risk but lower interest-rate risk (due to shorter average duration) than some intermediate-term bond funds.
FORBES: 5 Reasons Why Bond Funds Can Help You Navigate Bond Market Headwinds Successfully
Broadly, they fall into the same Morningstar "Intermediate-Term Bond" category.
If you are worried about the direction of interest rates, an alternative to iShares Barclays 7-10 Year Treasury ( IEF) would be the SPDR Barclays Capital Intermediate Term Corporate Bond ETF ( ITR), or something similar to it.
FORBES: Tough Year For Stocks, Gold And Treasury ETFs Did Better
Yale's Spiegel recommends intermediate-term corporate bond funds in tax-favored savings accounts.
In a recent article titled Index Fund Portfolio Reign Superior, I created 10, 000 portfolios using actively-managed U.S. large cap funds, international large cap funds, and intermediate-term municipal bond funds.
To reduce interest-rate and default risk, Ms. Benz suggests sticking with intermediate-term muni-bond funds with a high percentage of their holdings in general-obligation bonds, which are repaid with tax revenue.
In fact, Morningstar categorizes more than 60 municipal bond mutual funds as intermediate, of which several use one of the BarCap Municipal intermediate indices or similar index as a performance benchmark.
FORBES: Put Intermediate Muni Funds In Your Portfolio's Rotation
As yields rose in January, I reduced my exposure to intermediate-term bonds in favor of bond funds like PIMCO Income (PONDX) and Osterweis Strategic Income (OSTIX), which have a broader spectrum of fixed-income that they can invest in.
FORBES: 5 Reasons Why Bond Funds Can Help You Navigate Bond Market Headwinds Successfully
Consider alternative investments for your intermediate-term goals like short-term bond funds, municipal bond funds or income funds that include dividend-paying stocks in the mix but watch for bonds with long maturities.
FORBES: Ugly Truths about the Recession and How to Deal with Them
应用推荐