Weekend Reading: Short-Term Investments to Protect Against Inflation and Market Volatility
This article appears as part of Casey Weade's Weekend Reading for Retirees series. Every Friday, Casey highlights four hand-picked articles on trending retirement topics and delivers them straight to your email inbox. Get on the list here.
Protecting and growing your wealth in turbulent times is possible; It simply requires a closer look at your investment strategy – and above all – diversification. Instead of sitting on the sidelines in fear, you may want to consider short-term investment options that can help put your dollars to work.
READ THE ARTICLEA few highlighted here include:
📌 Series I savings bonds: While designed as a long-term investment, Series I bonds can be utilized in the short term; however, there is a penalty if you cash out within the first five years. On the upside, these are considered “low-risk savings products purchased by the government, backed by the U.S. Treasury Department and designed to protect against inflation.”
📌 Treasury bills (T-bills): Dubbed one of the safest investments available, T-bills are “a short-term, government-backed investment with terms ranging from four weeks to 52 weeks.” They are sold at face value and earn simple interest, meaning you make money on the principal, but do not receive interest until maturity.
📌 Fixed index annuities (FIAs): Short-term FIAs provide equity exposure with index funds. They “also have guaranteed fixed accounts, with many paying higher yields than T-bills with the ability to shift from fixed account to index funds each year.”
Make note: Your options keep improving as interest rates rise. Regardless of what happens, there is a bright spot amongst the rain.