Hello from NY! Bond funds or what???

[linmd56]

Hello to everyone. New to this site and looking forward to participating. My husband who is 53 would like to retire before age 65 and it seems to us that with the windfall inheritance of $900,000 which is currently in a sweep fund (ny muni) at a brokerage and in 2 short term cds and a portfolio of stocks (which need to be updated) that total about 900,000, we should be able to generate enough income to be comfortable. No kids at home but we have first grandchild on the way and would also like to still be able to help out our 2 grown kids financially. My dilemma is trying to find safety for the bulk of the portfolio but make more than 5%. We have been advised to look into bond funds but are novices at this. Seems to me that the yields are so low. Any advice for us?

 

[Dawg52]

5+ rates and safety is a tough combination. We would all love 6-7% no risk returns but just not out there. Penfed Credit Union occasionally offers specials in the 6% range but you may not find those anymore with the drop in rates.

I'm going to defer to the financial guru's here to give you some advice. Oh yes, welcome to the forum.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Wellesleys paying a 4.3% yield plus capital gains at the end of the year.

You could probably mix up a concoction of an intermediate term treasury fund, tips fund and high yield fund to produce something in the 5-5.5% range

Depends on your view of safety and safety horizon. An investment eking out a couple of percent over inflation isnt going to be terribly safe for the long haul. Grabbing for yield can be counterproductive.

 

[bssc]

Hi and welcome

I would go through the archives and look for anything that references SWR (safe withdrawal rate). One example is this thread

 

[RetireeRobert]

Hello to everyone. New to this site and looking forward to participating. My husband who is 53 would like to retire before age 65 and it seems to us that with the windfall inheritance of $900,000 which is currently in a sweep fund (ny muni) at a brokerage and in 2 short term cds and a portfolio of stocks (which need to be updated) that total about 900,000, we should be able to generate enough income to be comfortable. No kids at home but we have first grandchild on the way and would also like to still be able to help out our 2 grown kids financially. My dilemma is trying to find safety for the bulk of the portfolio but make more than 5%. We have been advised to look into bond funds but are novices at this. Seems to me that the yields are so low. Any advice for us?

More than 5% is hard but here is a New York muni fund, invested in AAA rated muni bonds and also has third party insurance to guaranty principal and interest payments. It is currently yielding right at 5%.

NKO - Nuveen Insured New York Dividend Advantage Municipal Fund

Nuveen also has several other muni bond funds you can look at at the Nuveen site. I assumed you do reside in new York and would want the double tax exempt status of a New York fund. If you reside elsewhere, Nueveen has state funds for several other states as well.

 

[linmd56]

Thanks to all! I'm still looking...this is a tough time to be trying to find some decent yields. Am considering letting Schwab manage part of the portfolio. Anyone have any experience with their management team?