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Strategies & Market Trends : Dividend investing for retirement -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kip S who wrote (4325)	4/4/2010 1:31:17 AM
From: stock bull	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 34328

Kip, thanks for the great suggestions. I have been using the 10 year Treasury as my benchmark. I have given serious thought of selling my bond funds if the treasury goes above 4% and stays above 4% for about a week or two. So, that would be my trigger point for selling off my long term bond funds and avoiding the risk of my total returns going south. Of course, I would track the domestic and global markets for signs of continued recovery. Going into short term bond funds is certainly worth considering. CD's are the next best thing. Of course, Money Market Funds are a waste of time, unless rates start moving up. Will continue to keep my eye on the treasuries and continue to watch the global, like Greece, and the domestic economic environment. Thanks again for the assistance. Stock Bull

To: Kip S who wrote (4325)	4/4/2010 12:57:01 PM
From: seminole	Respond to of 34328

Another couple of points and suggestions. First, any bond held to maturity would avoid principle loss with interest rate increases. For short term bonds it is easy to hold these instruments to maturity and avoid any loss. I agree that bond holders should shorten their durations (maturities) before rates rise. IMO, bond holders are going to get killed during the next couple of years. Another technique that bond holders (or CD holders) should consider is LADDERING. With a laddered portfolio, a portion of your bond portfolio is available for reinvestment each year at potentially higher rates. A laddered portfolio allow the investor to reach for higher yield, reduce interest rate risk by lowering the duration of the portfolio and still retain good liquidity.