A Dangerous Place to Invest ⚠️

The difference between a bond and a bond fund is an important distinction to make in today's market. It could save you from a dangerous investment. [Liberty Through Wealth]( SPONSORED [Bill SLAMS Biden: "A Disaster!"]( [Bill O'Reilly Slams]( This Must-See Showdown Reveals What's Ahead for You, Your Family and Your Money... During the Biden Presidency. [WATCH HERE.]( Wednesday Wealth Recap - As we celebrated Labor Day on Monday, Alexander Green reminded us to log off, unplug and put away our electronic devices. Maybe it's time we learn to [hit the off button and enjoy our surroundings](. - This month, top U.S. universities will report their most recent investment returns. The Yale Endowment has a reputation for its stellar track record, but it has failed to beat the market over the past decade. Nicholas Vardy wonders whether [the coming years will offer redemption for Yale](. - A redevelopment program will transform a 2,000-acre abandoned steel plant into Maryland's first offshore wind farm. As our friend David Fessler - Engineering Strategist of The Oxford Club - shares, [this initiative could provide power to 80,000 homes... and big profits to investors](. Note from Senior Managing Editor Christina Grieves: If you're a regular reader of Liberty Through Wealth, you probably know that Alexander Green often expounds [the importance of asset allocation](. In fact, Alex says this is the most important consideration for long-term investors. Asset allocation means expanding your portfolio beyond U.S. stocks into foreign stocks, bonds and other assets. This approach provides higher returns with less risk. And as we enter what may be the biggest speculative bubble ever, [now is the time for a financial safety net](. Luckily for us, we have our very own bond expert right here at The Oxford Club: Chief Income Strategist Marc Lichtenfeld. He has scoured the markets to find [exactly what investors need right now]( a bond with a contractually obligated 158% total return over the next three years. Better yet? That's just one of a dozen predetermined double- and triple-digit returns that Marc has found for his Oxford Bond Advantage subscribers. And in his [latest presentation]( Marc is giving 50 new Members the chance to win a $3,000 bundle that includes a lifetime subscription to this service, free of charge! [Click here to view the presentation and take your chance at winning.]( THE SHORTEST WAY TO A RICH LIFE Why I Ditched My Bond Funds Marc Lichtenfeld, Chief Income Strategist, The Oxford Club [Marc Lichtenfeld] My birthday is coming up. I mention it not in the hopes that you'll shower me with gifts (I wear a medium), but because every year around my birthday, I take a hard look at my portfolio and see [what adjustments need to be made](. Usually, all I do is make a few small adjustments to make sure I'm not grossly overweight in any one asset class. I don't sell my stocks because I expect a correction or other calamity. I'm in for the long term. A few years ago, I drastically reduced my bond fund holdings in anticipation of higher interest rates. Bond funds typically lose money when rates rise. To understand why this happens, you need to know that the underlying bonds typically drop in price too. If a corporate bond yields 4% and a risk-free 10-year Treasury yields 1.3%, that 4% corporate bond is priced according to a number of factors. An important one among them is what investors can earn without taking any risk by owning a Treasury. In this case, investors are getting an extra 2.7% for taking on the risk. If the yield on the Treasury goes up to 3.1%, the same corporate bond should drop in price (pushing the yield higher) to compensate investors for the risk of owning the bond. Think of it this way: Why would an investor pay the same price for an investment when they can earn 3.1% risk-free instead of 1.3%? The [yield on the investment]( must be higher now that the yield on risk-free investments is higher. SPONSORED [Palm Beach Millionaire Is Giving Away His Top Income Secrets... FREE OF CHARGE.]( [Millionaire Sticker]( [CLICK HERE]( What About Individual Bonds? There's an important difference between owning bonds and owning bond funds. I do own bonds and will continue to hold them. A bond has a maturity date. [On that maturity date, you will be paid the par value of the bond.]( Unless the company goes bankrupt, you will get the par value - usually $1,000. So, if you paid $1,000 or less for the bond, you'll get all of your money back... and maybe more. Though a bond fund is made up of bonds, the fund itself has no maturity. Therefore, there is no date on which you can assume a return of your capital. If the value of the fund is lower when you want to take your money out, you sell for a loss. In a rising rate environment, the value of the bonds in the fund will decline - which will reduce the price of the fund. "But wait - if I own the bond outright, won't its value decline too?" you may ask. Absolutely, it will. But that doesn't matter if you plan on holding it until maturity. Here's what I mean: Let's say you [buy a corporate bond]( at par that yields 4%. It matures on October 1, 2023. Every October and April, you will receive interest payments equal to 4% annually. Let's assume that this time next year, interest rates have soared. And your bond that you paid $1,000 for is worth only $900. You will still receive your interest payments in April and October no matter where the bond is trading. Unless you are going to sell the bond, it doesn't matter what the price is - because on October 1, 2023, you're going to get $1,000 back. It's why I recommend that bond investors buy only bonds they plan on holding until maturity. If something happens where the bond goes up in price and you have a profit, you can decide to sell it. But assume you're going to hold it until maturity. Bond funds are a dangerous place to invest in a rising rate environment because they are practically guaranteed to lose money. [Stick to individual bonds for the fixed income portion of your portfolio.]( Good investing, Marc [Leave a Comment]( JOIN THE CONVERSATION [Facebook]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Twitter]( [Email Share](mailto:?subject=A%20great%20piece%20from%20Liberty%20Through%20Wealth...&body=From%20Liberty%20Through%20Wealth:%0D%0A%0D%0AThe%20difference%20between%20a%20bond%20and%20a%20bond%20fund%20is%20an%20important%20distinction%20to%20make%20in%20today's%20market.%20It%20could%20save%20you%20from%20a%20dangerous%20investment.%0D%0A%0D [Email Share](mailto:?subject=A%20great%20piece%20from%20Liberty%20Through%20Wealth...&body=From%20Liberty%20Through%20Wealth:%0D%0A%0D%0AThe%20difference%20between%20a%20bond%20and%20a%20bond%20fund%20is%20an%20important%20distinction%20to%20make%20in%20today's%20market.%20It%20could%20save%20you%20from%20a%20dangerous%20investment.%0D%0A%0D MORE FROM LIBERTY THROUGH WEALTH [Will Yale Come Out on Top?]( [Log Off and Live]( [Welcome to the New "Post-Responsibility" Society]( SPONSORED [Do you own gold?]( [Somebody recently decided to buy a LOT of gold.]( And I think I know why... 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