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Stocking Stuffers For Santa Claus Rally : Top Advisers' Favorite Bond Funds
SPHIX seems to make a nice rising rate bond fund. It duration is 2.9 years. It looks like it nvests in High yield income instruments which carry a higher default risk but, the risk reward seems worthy of consideration. SPHIX has a great track record and could be paired with a less volatile fund such as a GNMA fund as a way of monitoring crossovers:
"The fund invests primarily in income producing debt securities, preferred stocks, and convertible securities, with an emphasis on lower-quality debt securities. It potentially invests in non-income producing securities, including defaulted securities and common stocks. The fund invests in companies in troubled or uncertain financial condition."
SPHIX has always been a plain vanilla junk bond fund. So goes junk, so goes SPHIX. The duration listed looks incorrect but don't have time to go to the Fidelity website for its most recent duration. It also has a 90 day short term redemption fee. Lots of better junk funds out there, especially the Ivy junk fund - WHIYX. It has a five day redemption fee. Many junk funds have no redemption fees.
I would be curious to know just who is on the list of "top" advisors. But it is curious that this is a pretty generic group of enormous funds. Not much in the way of truly different funds that go their own way, might include short positions, etc. None of these funds are offensive at all, but I would have expected to see a more diverse list. And most of them are long average maturities, too. Curious.
Comments
SPHIX seems to make a nice rising rate bond fund. It duration is 2.9 years. It looks like it nvests in High yield income instruments which carry a higher default risk but, the risk reward seems worthy of consideration. SPHIX has a great track record and could be paired with a less volatile fund such as a GNMA fund as a way of monitoring crossovers:
"The fund invests primarily in income producing debt securities, preferred stocks, and convertible securities, with an emphasis on lower-quality debt securities. It potentially invests in non-income producing securities, including defaulted securities and common stocks. The fund invests in companies in troubled or uncertain financial condition."
Another article on the topic of income in a low interest rate world:
forbes.com/sites/investor/2012/03/13/what-to-do-about-low-interest-rates/?partner=yahootix