At the same time, the market will be taking down the prices
of higher yielding bonds as slowing growth leads investors to demand higher returns when taking credit risk.
Credit risk is a greater concern if the fund invests in lower - quality bonds such
as high yield bond funds.
Typically, the market
for high yield bonds is less liquid than the market for investment grade or government bonds.
Similarly, yield spreads
on high yield bonds of 8.1 % are also well above their historical averages of 5.6 %.
This shouldn't surprise us, because the credit quality was low and the volume of
high yield bond issues was high 2004 - 2006.
Because investors are being asked to assume this risk,
high yield bonds tend to come with higher coupon rates, which can generate additional investment income.
Call
risk High yield bonds are more likely to have call provisions, which means they can be redeemed or paid off at the issuer's discretion prior to maturity.
These investments are still subject to credit risk, just
like high yield bonds, even if these loans are typically backed by collateral.
High Yield Bonds via Corporate Debt investment instruments (ETFs, Mutual Funds, Individual Bonds and other exotic instruments) provide a unique risk / reward equation unparalleled in recent times.
Future
high yield bond returns will likely be more muted — and depend more on improving fundamentals than commodity prices.
We are proud to have provided our shareholders with what we believe is a conservative approach to investing in
high yield bonds since 1995.
The way to make money in
high yield bonds over the long term is to try to avoid as many of the eventual defaults as possible.
I calculate growth based on 6.5 annual rate of return (half a basis point more than the
average high yield bond fund).
A more aggressive strategy is to invest the $ 201 monthly difference in some
now higher yielding bonds, given they have sold off due to the interest rate increase.
If they can not find buyers easily (
think high yield bond funds) there could also be a run on the fund or you could be gated in.
Here's my bias: at the first investment shop I worked in, the high yield manager told me that there is a nominal yield for
high yield bonds which reflects the risk.
Call provisions allow municipalities to
call higher yielding bonds issued over the last several years with new issues at lower and lower rates.
Interest rate risk
Although high yield bonds have relatively low levels of interest rate risk for a given duration or maturity compared to other bond types, this risk can nevertheless be a factor.
The focus on short term
high yielding bonds allows us to screen for the «best in class» short term high yielding fixed income ETFs.
I invest that middle - term money in a mix of
junk high yield bond funds and «high» yield savings accounts at an online bank.
The only problem here is if interest rates have risen since your initial investment, your bond won't be worth as much
because higher yielding bonds will be available elsewhere.
The article makes the point that unlike most ETFs,
high yield bond ETFs often trade at prices far from their fair value.