Build a Bond Ladder
Kiplinger's Personal Finance|January 2021
Use these ETFs to navigate a tricky market and manage cash flow.
NELLIE S. HUANG
Build a Bond Ladder

THE BOND WORLD CAN SEEM set in its ways, but once in a while an innovative product comes along to upend the notion. In this case, we’re talking about target-maturity bond exchange-traded funds, currently offered by Invesco and iShares. The ETFs invest in bonds in a particular sector—corporate debt or municipals, say—with all of the bonds maturing in a specific year. How the ETFs work takes some explaining, and they’re not right for everyone. But they offer investors some unique benefits.

Though not well known to many investors, these ETFs are not exactly new. The earliest of these types of funds, an iShares series of target-maturity muni bond ETFs, arrived in 2010. But target-date bond ETFs are growing in popularity, especially among investors who are nearing retirement or already retired.

There’s a lot to like, starting with the fact that, like individual bonds that you buy and hold to maturity, these ETFs “mature.” Come December of their target year, the funds close and return all of the capital to shareholders. “It’s like buying and holding to maturity a single bond, except that it’s a fund that holds hundreds of bonds,” says Karen Schenone, head of fixed-income strategy for iShares.

That’s chiefly what makes these funds easy to incorporate into a bond ladder, an old-school technique to boost yields and reduce interest rate risk without locking up all of your money for the long term. You spread your investments across bonds with staggered maturities—the “rungs” of the ladder—and as portions of your portfolio mature at regular intervals, you reinvest the proceeds in another rung further up the maturity line (or spend the cash or invest it elsewhere).

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة January 2021 من Kiplinger's Personal Finance.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة January 2021 من Kiplinger's Personal Finance.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من KIPLINGER'S PERSONAL FINANCE مشاهدة الكل
FREE HELP FOR COLLEGEBOUND STUDENTS
Kiplinger's Personal Finance

FREE HELP FOR COLLEGEBOUND STUDENTS

This program’s mentors assist applicants as they fill out the FAFSA, write essays and more.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 2024
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT SPOUSAL IRAS
Kiplinger's Personal Finance

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT SPOUSAL IRAS

You typically need earned income to contribute to an individual retirement account, but a spousal IRA provides an important exception to this rule.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 2024
SELLING SHARES? HERE'S HOW TO MINIMIZE TAXES ON YOUR GAINS
Kiplinger's Personal Finance

SELLING SHARES? HERE'S HOW TO MINIMIZE TAXES ON YOUR GAINS

ET'S say you've been regularly buying shares in a booming tech company over the past few years, but now you want to start taking some of those profits, perhaps to rebalance your portfolio.

time-read
5 mins  |
December 2024
Strategies for Novice Investors
Kiplinger's Personal Finance

Strategies for Novice Investors

AS part of a lifes kills program for young, single mothers, I was asked to teach a class on how to get on top of your finances.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 2024
ANSWERS TO YOUR 529 PLAN QUESTIONS
Kiplinger's Personal Finance

ANSWERS TO YOUR 529 PLAN QUESTIONS

Thanks to recent policy changes, families have more options for what to do with money sitting in these tax-advantaged accounts.

time-read
6 mins  |
December 2024
Rate-Cut Winners and Losers
Kiplinger's Personal Finance

Rate-Cut Winners and Losers

NOW that the Federal Reserve has cracked the interest rate ice, the next development will be to separate winners from losers.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 2024
SHOULD YOU BUY THESE RED-HOT FUNDS?
Kiplinger's Personal Finance

SHOULD YOU BUY THESE RED-HOT FUNDS?

Covered-call ETFs are popular but come with plenty of caveats.

time-read
6 mins  |
December 2024
DIVIDEND STOCKS ARE READY TO REBOUND
Kiplinger's Personal Finance

DIVIDEND STOCKS ARE READY TO REBOUND

Our favorite dividend payers are poised to benefit as falling interest rates lure investors back.

time-read
10+ mins  |
December 2024
IS A 55+ COMMUNITY RIGHT FOR YOU?
Kiplinger's Personal Finance

IS A 55+ COMMUNITY RIGHT FOR YOU?

These age-restricted developments appeal to older adults seeking abundant amenities and an active lifestyle.

time-read
8 mins  |
December 2024
AT LONG LAST, RATES ARE DROPPING
Kiplinger's Personal Finance

AT LONG LAST, RATES ARE DROPPING

Consider these portfolio moves now that the Federal Reserve has cut its benchmark interest rate.

time-read
4 mins  |
December 2024