The Best Time For Fixed Income Investments

While fixed income investments are a safe investment, they aren't something everyone should be running out to invest in.  If you are in need of regular income, and have enough assets, then they can be a great way to keep the money flowing in.  However, if you haven't accumulated the assets, or have the time for  more aggressive investment choices, then now if probably not the time to start income investing.

Typically, the time for fixed income investing is somewhere near, or right at retirement age.  This is the age where you're going to start requiring income beyond what Social Security pays to maintain your lifestyle.  Assuming you've accumulated some sort of wealth by the time you're ready retire, you can shift that wealth into fixed income investments in order to boost your income levels over what Social Security pays.  This is the time in your life where risk is not really what you're looking for, but rather you want to preserve your capital while still making money off of it.

On the other hand, investing in fixed income securities is not something for the young.  Perhaps it could be incorporated into your portfolio in small amounts, but the younger the are the more aggressive you can be in your investment tactics.  This is because if you do lose money, you will have plenty of time to earn it all back.  This approach isn't for everyone, because everyone has their own level of risk tolerance.

As a general rule, in your 20's to 30's you should invest fairly aggressively, but in you late 30's and 40's you might ease up a bit to ensure you preserve more of your capital.  This is where you might start considering allocating a small portion of your portfolio to fixed income investments.  The returns aren't going to blow you out of the water, but you can reinvest the returns, and have a long enough time for that to help build your nest egg.  Finally, in your 50's you really want to ease up on the risk, leaning more towards low risk investments.

Finally, there's retirement; this is where you want to take on as little risk as possible, because you want to be able to continue to afford your lifestyle.  This is where fixed income investments come in most handy because you can find some that are essentially risk free, thereby ensuring that you always have a reasonable amount of income.

So, the best time for fixed income investments is retirement.  However, there are plenty of years where you might look into such investments for their low risk, and almost guaranteed returns.  This will, of course, all depend on your available capital, and your risk tolerance.

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