What’s Better Than U.S. Bonds for Downside Protection?
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.
Weekend Reading
For decades, U.S. Treasury bonds were viewed as a safe haven, but recent events, including dramatic interest rate spikes and even a downgrade to the U.S. credit rating, have retirees and investors alike asking: Are U.S. bonds still the gold standard for protecting wealth during downturns?
READ THE ARTICLEThe piece walks through several options beyond U.S. Treasuries:
📌 Non-U.S. Bonds: Globally diversified and currency-hedged bond funds have outperformed their U.S. counterparts with less volatility over the past 30 years
📌 Gold: While it doesn’t always shine, gold has shown resilience during equity crashes, offering valuable diversification—if you can stomach the long periods of underperformance
📌 Managed Futures: A trend-following strategy with low correlation to stocks, these funds often shine in bear markets but come with higher fees and complexity
📌 Tail Risk/Long Volatility Funds: Like insurance for your portfolio, these spike during market chaos but often lag during calm stretches
Key Takeaways: You don’t need to eliminate risk entirely; just understand it, manage it, and align your investments with your personal comfort and purpose. Every form of protection has its own cost, but peace of mind in retirement is priceless.