Are Bonds At The End Of Their Run?

One of the key tenets of investing with an asset allocation model is that bonds and stocks working together will help reduce the volatility of your portfolio. Recent history has shown that while stocks crashed, bonds soared and those fortunate enough to hold them generally did better than those invested entirely in equities.

Recently I read a couple of articles in Yahoo Finance and The Wall Street Journal looking at bonds both from a historical perspective and future prospects. Here are some key points from the articles:

• As of June 30, U.S. stocks have underperformed long-term Treasury bonds for the past 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 years.


• Using data from research firm Ibbotson Associates, large-company stocks have returned 9.2% annually over the past 40 years through the end of June, versus 8.5% for long-term government bonds.


• One of the article's author, Jason Zweig, calls into question the validity of data used in Jeremy Siegel's book "Stocks for the Long Run".


• The long-playing Treasury-bond rally seems to have petered out.


• With Washington pumping out $2 trillion in net new Treasury offerings this year, fear is growing of a vast oversupply that will send prices plummeting and yields—which move in the opposite direction—soaring.


• Bill Gross, the head of Pimco Total Return fund, predicts that federal debt as a share of gross domestic product, now 45%, could balloon to 300% over the next 10 years.
  

What does this mean for the income investor? At the macro level, not much. Our investing strategy should not be swayed by the latest headlines. Headlines are designed to incite two emotions - fear and greed. Acting on these emotions will often lead you to do just the opposite of what you should be doing.

Should We Give Up On Stocks?

Not hardly. Consider what it took for bonds performance to "equal" equities. A decline in the world's economy and equities not been seen since the Great Depression, coupled with a bond rally driven by the lowest interest rates in generations. In short, equities fell to the level that bonds ascended to. Both stretching what was previously considered "normal."

Should We Give Up On Bonds?

Conventional wisdom would tell you that bonds have only one direction to go, down. However, if you have followed your asset allocation model, you are likely close to where you need to be allocation-wise and if bonds begin to fall, it will create opportunities to buy at lower prices with higher yields. If you are not fully allocated, like many of us, a planned and steady movement over time will allow you to enjoy the effects of dollar-cost-averaging.

Currently, I am under allocated in bonds and it is my plan to steadily purchase bonds each month until my allocation is in line. To do otherwise would be a form of market-timing, which is contrary to my investing strategy. My bond preference is for intermediate and longer-term issues. Here are some bond funds that I have either purchased or am considering:

iShares Barclays Aggregate Bond (AGG) - Yield: 4.28%
The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the United States investment grade securities markets as defined by the Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Index.

Vanguard Long-Term Bond ETF (BLV) - Yield: 5.37%
The Fund seeks to match the investment performance of the Barclays Capital Mutual Fund Long Government/Corporate Index.

Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond ETF (BIV) - Yield: 4.55%
The Fund seeks to track the performance of the Barclays Capital 5-10 year Government/Credit Index. This index includes U.S. Government, investment-grade corporate, and international dollar-denominated bonds with maturities between 5 and 10 years.

iShares iBoxx $ Invest Grade Corp Bond (LQD) - Yield: 5.49%
The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of a segment of the U.S. investment grade corporate bond market as defined by the GS $ InvesTop Index.

iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treas Bond (TLT) - Yield: 4.11%
The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the long-term sector of the U.S. Treasury market as defined by the Barclays Capital 20+ Year Treasury Index.

Longer term bonds could see significant price declines as interest rates rise to, or exceed, historical norms. Before making any investment decision you should consult your financial adviser and understand the risks involved.

Full Disclosure: Long AGG, BLV, LQD. See a list of all my income holdings here.

Related Articles:

• Is Now The Time to Consider Long-term Bonds?
• All Investing Involves Risk
• Are ETFs and CEFs Good Income Investments?
• International ETF Dividend Investing
• Optimizing Your Asset Allocation