The Independent Vanguard Adviser

Topic

Bonds

A collection of 7 stories

Bond Funds Own Bonds

Have you ever wondered whether it's better to buy your own bonds or to invest in a bond mutual fund? Are you unsure whether you should be buying a taxable and a tax-free bond fund? This week, I'll help you answer those questions.

Trade-Offs In Action

“Jeff, how do you balance the trade-offs when allocating to bonds in your own account and in the Model Portfolios?” I saw many versions of that question come in from subscribers after I shared the latest installment of the Bonds 101 series, Balancing Trade-Offs. So, before moving on to some

Balancing Trade-Offs

Investors typically think of bonds as the safe, sleepy part of their portfolio. And, for the most part, they’re exactly right—bonds can be pretty boring. Though that wasn’t the case in 2022. After enduring the worst calendar year in bonds in decades, well, no one is calling

Bond Basics

For many investors, I’m sure it feels as if your life-preserver sprung an irreparable leak last year as the bond market imploded. Bonds have almost always been synonymous with the “safe” part of a balanced portfolio, and yet, their prices have been on an almost relentless decline for the

How Much Risk?

Vanguard’s newest bond fund, which opened for investment on Thursday, January 26th, isn’t as new as you think. A little over a year ago, Vanguard launched two active bond funds. Vanguard gave Core-Plus Bond (VCPIX) just two weeks to gather assets before building its portfolio while the other,

Out of the Oven

Vanguard has decided that after 15 months in the oven, Multi-Sector Income (VMSIX and VMSAX) is ready to eat. Vanguard seeded the global income fund with $25 million when they launched it in October 2021 but didn’t allow outside investors to participate—until now. Yesterday, I was scratching my

Corporates: Good or Evil?

Channeling my grandkids, it’s been a not so good, very, very bad year for bonds in 2022. As we know the bond market has been a source of much investor angst—to put it lightly—Jeff and I will continue to try and bring our perspective to questions you