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04-02-2016, 03:14 PM
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#1
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gone traveling
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 34
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Best Bond Fund
If you could hold only one bond fund which would it be?
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04-02-2016, 03:39 PM
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#2
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Michigan
Posts: 3,486
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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.
__________________
"The mountains are calling, and I must go." John Muir
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04-02-2016, 03:57 PM
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#3
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 12,991
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 Quote:
Originally Posted by 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.
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I think that the loss of principal is higher than the loss of principle.
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04-02-2016, 04:05 PM
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#4
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,369
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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.
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04-02-2016, 04:45 PM
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#5
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 89
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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.
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04-02-2016, 07:57 PM
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#6
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Northern IL
Posts: 22,959
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Frankie1926
If you could hold only one bond fund which would it be?
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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
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04-03-2016, 08:37 AM
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#7
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gone traveling
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 34
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Just a place to park cash for a year or 2 in a taxable account.
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04-03-2016, 12:27 PM
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#8
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Poway, CA
Posts: 441
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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.
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04-03-2016, 01:21 PM
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#9
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Northern IL
Posts: 22,959
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Frankie1926
Just a place to park cash for a year or 2 in a taxable account. ...
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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
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04-04-2016, 05:22 AM
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#10
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Poway, CA
Posts: 441
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ERD50
...
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
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+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.
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04-04-2016, 07:21 AM
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#11
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Cleveland
Posts: 344
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Frankie1926
If you could hold only one bond fund which would it be?
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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.
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04-04-2016, 02:36 PM
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#12
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Southern Cal
Posts: 4,032
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So I have VFSUX, how is it different from VCSH?
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__________________
Just another day in paradise
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04-06-2016, 06:15 PM
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#13
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Central CA
Posts: 6,184
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I have 2 California muni funds as well as CA muni bonds. I like the "no tax" benefits.
__________________
Retired at 59 in 2014. Should have done it sooner but I worried too much.
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04-06-2016, 07:55 PM
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#14
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 723
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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).
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04-07-2016, 01:10 PM
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#15
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Dryer sheet aficionado
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Southwest Ohio
Posts: 33
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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.
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