Retirement Planning
The Fixed Income Conundrum

Here’s where we are today: As I write this, the 10-year Treasury yield stands at about 0.94% and the 30-year Treasury stands at 1.65%.
This creates a bit of a conundrum for fixed income investors. Let me explain.
The Federal Reserve Board has a long-standing policy they have stated through the years of a target inflation rate of 2%. Whether or not they accomplish this goal, here is what they reaffirmed in 2016:
The inflation rate over the longer run is primarily determined by monetary policy, and hence the Committee has the ability to specify a longer-run goal for inflation. The Committee reaffirms its judgment that inflation at the rate of 2 percent, as measured by the annual change in the price index for personal consumption expenditures, is most consistent over the longer run with the Federal Reserve’s statutory mandate. The Committee would be concerned if inflation were running persistently above or below this objective. Communicating this symmetric inflation goal clearly to the public helps keep longer-term inflation expectations firmly anchored, thereby fostering price stability and moderate long-term interest rates and enhancing the Committee’s ability to promote maximum employment in the face of significant economic disturbances.
If 2% continues to be their target inflation rate and if they achieve their goal, then the real return of the current long-term government bonds is destined to be negative. And this is before considering the taxability of the interest paid by the bonds.
Making matters worse, by the time these bonds would mature and your hard-earned money is returned to you, the inflation adjusted principal has been cut in half. That’s not an ideal scenario if you ask me, but nobody seems to be talking about it.
What we’re seeing happen as a result is that investors are chasing yield in other areas of the fixed income space. The problem with that strategy is that it further increases the correlation to equities. I find that to be a little ironic since most people invest in bonds to reduce that correlation.
This is one of many reasons that I don’t believe fixed income is designed to be a return driver for retirement portfolios. Fixed-income is there to provide access to capital during times of market upheaval. That’s about it.
I will hazard a guess (though NOT a prediction) that what is likely going to happen to the long-term government bonds noted above is not going to be pretty. If interest rates rise, the price of these bonds will fall – not good. If interest rates don’t move, but the Fed’s mandate holds true, then these bonds lose real money – also not good.
Given the scenarios, it seems to me that the only way these bonds mature with a positive real return is if interest rates continue to fall. Do you want to take that bet?
Not to rub salt in the wounds of these investors, but even as the stock market rebound has continued, the dividend yield of the S&P 500 is currently sitting at 1.96%. And just in case anyone needs reminding, that dividend income stream has nearly doubled the rate of inflation over the last 60+ years.
This is all just food for thought. It’s a wild world out there.
Thanks for reading!
-Ashby
This post is not advice. Please see additional disclaimers.
The post The Fixed Income Conundrum appeared first on Retirement Field Guide.
—————–
By: Ashby Daniels, CFP®
Title: The Fixed Income Conundrum
Sourced From: retirementfieldguide.com/the-fixed-income-conundrum/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-fixed-income-conundrum
Published Date: Sat, 13 Jun 2020 13:48:00 +0000
Did you miss our previous article…
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Retirement Planning
Ends-of-the-World Every Year Since 1970

There always has been and always will be a reason not to invest or not to stay invested. This is all the mainstream media reports to us. Below you will find a list of some of the worst global events each year since 1970. I have some commentary to follow.
1970: War: US troops invade Cambodia.
1971: Civil Unrest: Anti-war militants march on Washington.
1972: Political: Start of Watergate Scandal.
1973: Economic: OPEC raises oil prices in response to US involvement abroad.
1974: Political: Nixon resigns as President of the United States.
1975: Political: Multiple assassination attempts on President Ford.
1976: World: Ebola virus.
1977: Political: Government shutdowns.
1978: Market: U.S. Dollar plunges to record low against many European currencies.
1979: World: Iranian militants seize the U.S. embassy in Teheran and hold hostages.
1980: Economic: Inflation spiked to a high of 14.76%.
1981: Political: President Reagan assassination attempt.
1982: Economic: Recession continues in the U.S. with nationwide unemployment of 10.8%.
1983: Economic: Unemployment in the U.S. reaches 12 million.
1984: Economic: 70 U.S. banks fail during the year.
1985: World: Multiple airplane hijackings around the world.
1986: World: Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station explodes.
1987: Market: DOW drops by 22.6% on October 22.
1988: Environment: Awareness of global warming and the greenhouse effect grows.
1989: Environment: Exxon Valdez dumps 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound.
1990: World: Persian Gulf War starts.
1991: World: Mass shooting in Killeen, TX.
1992: Human Rights: Los Angeles riots following the death of Rodney King.
1993: Terrorism: World Trade Center bombing.
1994: World: Mass genocide in Rwanda.
1995: Terrorism: Oklahoma City bombing.
1996: Terrorism: Olympic Park bombing.
1997: World: Bird flu.
1998: World: Multiple U.S. embassy bombings.
1999: World: Columbine shooting.
2000: Economic: Start of the Dotcom Market Crash.
2001: Terrorism: Terrorist Attacks in NYC, DC & PA.
2002: Economic: Nasdaq bottomed after a 76.81% drop.
2003: World: The U.S. invades Iraq.
2004: World: The U.S. launches an attack on Falluja.
2005: World: Hurricane Katrina
2006: World: Bird flu.
2007: Economic: Start of the Great Recession.
2008: Economic: Great Recession continues.
2009: Economic: S&P bottomed after a 56.8% drop.
2010: Market: Flash crash.
2011: Market: Occupy Wall Street and S&P downgrades U.S. Debt.
2012: Political: Fiscal cliff.
2013: Political: Taper tantrum.
2014: World: Ebola virus.
2015: World: Multiple mass shootings.
2016: Political: Divided U.S. Presidential election.
2017: World: North Korea testing nuclear weapons.
2018: Economic: U.S. & China trade war.
2019: Economic: Student loan debt reaches an all-time high of $1.4 trillion.
2020: World: COVID-19.
While many of these events were undoubtedly terrible (and there are certainly others not named here that were worse), most of these were broadcast as end-of-the-world events for the stock market. Despite that attention, it is worth noting that these were, for the most part, one-time events. In other words, most faded into the newspapers of history. We moved on.
Obviously, some caused monumental shifts in the way the world works. Just think about how much air travel continues to be impacted by the events of 9/11. But, outside of the resulting inconveniences (if we want to call safety protocols inconveniences) associated with air travel, flying is safer than ever before.
Take a look at just about any of the events and you will find there are many that people will hardly remember. My point here isn’t that these events are to be ignored or that they were easy to stomach at the time, but that they have become a distant memory.
I want to also make the point that we should expect these types of negative events. As investors, we know these types of crises, economic catastrophes, and global phenomena are going to happen.
But in almost all cases, here is what we can say in the next breath – this too shall pass.
Will there be legal, humanitarian, economic, or some other aid required as a result of these events? Almost certainly the answer is yes, but that doesn’t mean it they won’t eventually fade into history.
Lastly, what’s worth noting is how the market has performed over these last 50 years despite the continual advertisements of the world crashing down around us. On January 2, 1970, the Dow Jones stood at 809 and the S&P at 90 -> those are not typos. These same indexes have grown (not including dividends) to 26,387 and 3,232 respectively. Amazing, no?
Perhaps what gets overlooked more than anything else is what separates the above one-time negative events from the positive stories that go largely ignored over our lifetimes. And that is a story worth telling. See the companion post below:
Unheralded Positive Events Every Year Since 1970
Stay the Course,
Ashby
Retirement Field Guide Mission:
“To help 10 million people make better retirement decisions.”
If you would like to join us in achieving our mission, I hope you will consider sharing our site if you have found it helpful in your own retirement planning.
This post is not advice. Please see additional disclaimers.
The post Ends-of-the-World Every Year Since 1970 appeared first on Retirement Field Guide.
—————–
By: Ashby Daniels, CFP®
Title: Ends-of-the-World Every Year Since 1970
Sourced From: retirementfieldguide.com/ends-of-the-world-every-year-since-1970/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ends-of-the-world-every-year-since-1970
Published Date: Tue, 04 Aug 2020 13:26:19 +0000
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https://getinvestmentadvise.com/retirement-planning/wildfire-prone-property-insurance-bill-in-california-due-for-hearing/
Retirement Planning
Wildfire prone property insurance bill in California due for hearing

The post Wildfire prone property insurance bill in California due for hearing appeared first on Live Insurance News.
The bill is expected to be heard in upcoming weeks as opposing sites prepare for major battle.
A new California bill, the outcomes of which will have a lot to say about coverage for wildfire prone property in the state, will soon be headed for hearing. The hearing is expected to be a heated one as strong opposing opinions have the opportunity to be voiced.
Opponents of this bill are calling it a direct attack on consumer protections in insurance.
That said, proponents of the bill claim it is the best method for making coverage available to wildfire prone property in California. The bill in question is Assembly Bill 2167. It was written by Assemblyperson Tom Daly (D-Anaheim). If it passes,it will create the Insurance Market Action Plan (IMAP) program. The IMAP program is meant to protect residential properties.
So far, AB 2167 has progressed quickly, when taking into consideration that a chunk of the legislature has been considerably restricted by pandemic crisis precautions. It was first presented in early June and backers have been saying that it was brought forward in good timing and that it has all the momentum it needs to be passed.
That said, AB 2167 has not been without opposition. In fact, it has faced considerable opposition, having been called an attack on Proposition 103, insurance consumer protection law. California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara lobbed that argument at it, calling it an “insurance industry wish list, with nothing to help consumers,” and Consumer Watchdog, whose founder, Harvey Rosenfeld, was the original author of Proposition 103.
The insurance industry strongly supports the bill, saying it will help wildfire prone property coverage.
Insurance organizations such as the American Property Casualty Insurance Association and the Personal Insurance Federation both support AB 2167. The bill also has the support of the California Association of Counties (CSAC), as well as Fire Safe Councils of California, and the CalFIRE union.
The Consumer Federation of America, another watchdog organization, has predicted that if AB 2167 passes, it will cause 40 percent increases in insurance rates. On the other hand, insurance groups claim that the bill offers owners of wildfire prone property a greater opportunity for choice and competition among insurance companies based on coverage and premiums while avoiding the limitations and high costs associated with FAIR Plan coverage.
The post Wildfire prone property insurance bill in California due for hearing appeared first on Live Insurance News.
—————–
By: Marc
Title: Wildfire prone property insurance bill in California due for hearing
Sourced From: www.liveinsurancenews.com/wildfire-prone-property-insurance-bill-in-california-due-for-hearing/8549884/
Published Date: Fri, 14 Aug 2020 09:00:14 +0000
Did you miss our previous article…
https://getinvestmentadvise.com/retirement-planning/is-this-the-last-hurrah-for-bonds/
Retirement Planning
Is this the last hurrah for bonds?

Recently, I have written quite a bit about the long-term return expectations for investing in bonds. See here, here, here and here.
Spoiler alert: I don’t think it’s good.
But long-term bonds this year have been quite an amazing story as the COVID pandemic has caused the Fed to take historically monumental actions. As a result, we’ve watched long-term Treasuries tear the roof off the market. For instance, a 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (name withheld for compliance purposes) is up more than 31% YTD as of July 31st.
That is insane!
But there is a good reason for this increase shown below.
The red circle shows a decrease in the 30-year Treasury rate of almost 40% over a span of six months. That’s practically unprecedented with only two periods (2008 and 1981-1982) having similar declines over such short periods.
But this begs the question: Is this the last hurrah for bonds as a driver of any meaningful return? Below is the 30-Year Treasury rate over the last 40+ years.

For what it’s worth, people have been forecasting the end of the bond bull market since 2012 (maybe even earlier) and yet it has continued despite those predictions. But at some point, the bond party will come to an end.
The Fed has been clear that they are going to keep rates stable until at least 2022 which means this may not change for a little while longer. Or in the near term, I could even see the high returns continuing if we experience pandemic economic shutdown round two.
But, I can’t see a world where this is the case for much longer than that – most importantly over the span of a 30-year retirement.
The official end of the bond bull market depends on a recovery from the pandemic economy as well as a few other factors causing rates to rise. But when they do, it seems likely to me that this may be the last great hurrah for bonds for quite some time.
The question is when to get off that train and that undoubtedly requires a personal answer.
Stay the Course,
Ashby
Retirement Field Guide Mission:
“To help 10 million people make better retirement decisions.”
If you would like to join us in achieving our mission, I hope you will consider sharing our site if you have found it helpful in your own retirement planning.
This post is not advice. Please see additional disclaimers.
The post Is this the last hurrah for bonds? appeared first on Retirement Field Guide.
—————–
By: Ashby Daniels, CFP®
Title: Is this the last hurrah for bonds?
Sourced From: retirementfieldguide.com/is-this-the-last-hurrah-for-bonds/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=is-this-the-last-hurrah-for-bonds
Published Date: Wed, 12 Aug 2020 13:47:16 +0000
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