Bond funds — which one?

Terry Says

Whew — that is a very broad question.  And I can’t answer without knowing a lot more about your total investment picture.  It’s like asking “what stock funds” –only more complicated.

You need to decide our investment time horizon– short-term or long.

You need to understand the risk in owning a bond fund that purchases longer-term bonds (if interest rates rise, the per share price of your bond fund will fall).

You need to determine your investment risk tolerance. (Lower quality bonds yield more– but payment of interest may be at risk in a recession.)

And you need to understand the difference between “fixed” bond funds, such as ETFs, and “managed” funds, where the bond fund manager attempts to mitigate some of those risks.

Are you prepared to answer those questioins?  If so, please write back!