With interest rates at near all time lows, many investors are questioning whether they should own any bonds at all. Most financial advisors recommend a portion of an individual’s portfolio be allocated to bonds, and not just for retirees but for younger, more aggressive investors as well. This seems counter intuitive to younger investors who generally feel that they have time to weather investment volatility and should maintain allocations that maximize long term returns.
However in investing timing is always important. While we don’t know when a market correction will come, we know one is inevitable. Think of investments in bonds, not as “safe low earning money” but as “opportunity” cash. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard investors say that they wish they had had cash available at some point in their investing lives to make an investment at a specific time. Professionally careers are made by a single investment made at a market bottom.
For more opinions, here is a link to an article I was quoted in on whether a bond allocation makes sense for younger investors.
Bill DeShurko 