Total bond

[ducky911]

As far back as I can remember it has never been a good time to buy bonds. Most advice has been "you need them" but "it is not a good time right now".

hmmm.....Vanguard total bond VBTLX

1 Year 3 Year 5 Year 10 year Since Inception 11/12/2001

6.12% 4.03% 3.73% 5.12% 4.59%

If this was looking 15 years into the future I would be happy.

 

[RobbieB]

I like my CA munis, they pay ~4.5%, the value is stable and zero taxes.

 

[mathjak107]

As far back as I can remember it has never been a good time to buy bonds. Most advice has been "you need them" but "it is not a good time right now".

hmmm.....Vanguard total bond VBTLX

1 Year 3 Year 5 Year 10 year Since Inception 11/12/2001

6.12% 4.03% 3.73% 5.12% 4.59%

If this was looking 15 years into the future I would be happy.

a 36 year down trend except for some speed bumps made that possible . but if the party ends at midnight it may be 11pm at this stage unless rates here turn negative .

while we may have thought rates were going higher they still had more downside to go but eventually they will flip upward and stay there .

despite the bump upwards that trend we had was clearly downward .

 

[GrayHare]

That bump up during the most recent year is what would be expected near a top.

 

[jazz4cash]

I like my CA munis, they pay ~4.5%, the value is stable and zero taxes.

Individual issues?
I just caved and bought my states muni fund by Fidelity. Pays about 3.2 but it'll probably tank now. I had 0 bonds before due to issues cited by OP.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[RobbieB]

I have individual bonds with Morgan Stanley and bond funds at Fidelity.

The performance is very similar.

 

[Spanky]

Most advice has been "you need them" but "it is not a good time right now".

Since no one can predict the movement of interest rate on a consistent basis, it's not very prudent to follow the advises of these "so called" experts.

 

[Free]

a 36 year down trend except for some speed bumps made that possible . but if the party ends at midnight it may be 11pm at this stage unless rates here turn negative .

while we may have thought rates were going higher they still had more downside to go but eventually they will flip upward and stay there .

despite the bump upwards that trend we had was clearly downward .

Thank you for that informative chart. It was worth the subscription I pay to ER.org /s. I've got a fair amount of my retirement in TIAA, it's consistently earned 4%+ over the past few years - but it's legacy money that hasn't been touched for years. I've got a Roth and 457 in TIAA (different account) and it guarantees 3% but has been closer to 4% in actual.