Best Bond Fund

[Frankie1926]

If you could hold only one bond fund which would it be?


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[DrRoy]

I don't like bond funds. I have individual bonds due to the risk of principle loss if interest rates rise. Individual bonds will mature at par.

 

[travelover]

I don't like bond funds. I have individual bonds due to the risk of principle loss if interest rates rise. Individual bonds will mature at par.

I think that the loss of principal is higher than the loss of principle.

 

[RE2Boys]

Only one bond fund is all I have, Vanguard Short Term Corporate as a parking place for money I don't want languishing in a MM.

 

[Svensk Anga]

There are thousands to choose from. Why restrict yourself to only one?

We have:
Vanguard short term corporate
VG total bond market
VG intermediate term corporate
VG intermediate term treasury
plus
CD ladder
TIPS ladder
I-bonds
Stable value fund

Oh, and VG stuck total international bond in my target date fund, without consulting me.

 

[ERD50]

If you could hold only one bond fund which would it be?

One that fits my needs.

And since you didn't list your needs, how can anyone provide anything useful?

Short term, intermediate, long? Tax Exempt? State specific tax exempt? Inflation adjusted? And so on.

Oh, by the way, I'm looking to buy one new car - which one should I buy?

So seriously - what are you looking for?

-ERD50

 

[Frankie1926]

Just a place to park cash for a year or 2 in a taxable account.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[OrcasIslandBound]

I use a mix of about 40% BLV and about 60% BND for my bond funds. I also believe, but haven't proven it yet (so I might actually be wrong) that it makes absolutely no difference whether you have a collection of individual bonds or bond etfs or bond funds, as long as the composition remains the same. You'll will end up with exactly the same amount of of money in the end. To "prove" this, I would have to run a bunch of simulations. Maybe I'll do this after retirement.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

 

[ERD50]

Just a place to park cash for a year or 2 in a taxable account. ...

That changes everything. Context is important.

You can look around, 1 and 2 year CD rates look to be around 1.0 - 1.4% guaranteed. Probably better than a short term bond fund.

How important is it that this maintains it's value? I like to think long term, even with short term money, unless I absolutely need every dollar for some future purchase. The market goes up on average. The more time your money spends in the market, the better you are likely to do.

-ERD50

 

[OrcasIslandBound]

...

How important is it that this maintains it's value? I like to think long term, even with short term money, unless I absolutely need every dollar for some future purchase. The market goes up on average. The more time your money spends in the market, the better you are likely to do.

-ERD50

+1 That is my strategy as well. If you have a relatively conservative mix of stocks and bonds, you can probably keep it all efficiently invested.


Sent from my Nexus 4 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

 

[skyvue]

If you could hold only one bond fund which would it be?


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

I use Vanguard Short Term Corporate Bond Fund ETF (VCSH) as place to stash my money that I used to put into a Money Market.

 

[Fedup]

So I have VFSUX, how is it different from VCSH?


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[RobbieB]

I have 2 California muni funds as well as CA muni bonds. I like the "no tax" benefits.

 

[panacea]

for that short time horizon I would keep look at MM, short-term CDs, and VG Short-Term Bond fund (tax-exempt if you're in a high tax bracket).

 

[r2021t]

It really depends on the Bond. If we're talking really old Bond, I'd have to go with "From Russia w/ Love". If it's a newer Bond, probably "Casino Royale".

Most of the intermediate Bonds were kind of crappy.