Does Anyone Here Invest In Bonds?

[ExpatJ]

I see that Portuguese bonds are paying 7% now- given that they will be getting huge EC bailouts it seems like a nice little gamble/investment to me. how do i go about investing in bonds? anyone have any experience- good or bad?

thanks

[allane]

I have been investing in bonds for 25 yrs., and have done very well at it. In general, it is difficult to invest in bonds outside of your home country. As a Canadian, I am limited to Canadian bonds and U.S. Treasuries.

Some brokerages/mutual fund companies offer international bond funds, which generally contain bonds from various countries. You would have to check with the individual funds to see what mix of funds they held at their last reporting date. (Information on the internet is generally updated only once per yr., or quarterly at best.)

[AyG]

You could do even better with Greece. 10 year government bond yields there are 12.57%.

However, there is a very high risk of losing a lot of money. The yields on these bonds are high because they are so risky, and there's a real chance they'll default.

Also, if your liabilities aren't in Euros, there's also the exchange rate risk. Currency pairs frequently swing by 30% or more a year.

Don't think of this as investing, think of it as gambling - and be prepared to lose it all. Not somewhere to put money that you might need in the future.

[Naam]

1. I see that Portuguese bonds are paying 7% now-

2. given that they will be getting huge EC bailouts it seems like a nice little gamble/investment to me.

3. how do i go about investing in bonds?

4. anyone have any experience- good or bad?

1. Portugal pays >7%, Greek bonds pay up to 16.5%, Irish bonds >10%

2. if the bailouts were a given fact all these bonds would yield less than 4%

3. by instructing your bank "buy XYZ, ISIN code 123456789"

4. >30 years of excellent experience

if you have more questions don't hesitate to ask!

[Naam]

if your liabilities aren't in Euros, there's also the exchange rate risk. Currency pairs frequently swing by 30% or more a year

most european sovereign debtors have issued bonds in various currencies besides €URos such as US-Dollars, Swiss Francs and British Pounds.

[gk10002000]

i have lots of bonds and bond funds. I am a US citizen so I mention that because of the US income tax laws affect what I buy.

In my regular brokerage account I have lots of Municipal bonds and municipal bond funds. Their income is tax free, so even though their interest rate is a bit low, it is not taxed. You can research taxable equivalent yields. I own, PRTA, DRTAX, ABHYX and two individual Muni bonds. In my Traditional IRA, which is tax deferred, I have PRHYX and just bought a 5% bond from the Royal bank of scotland. In my ROTH IRA I own PRHYX and HYG. I had a lot of LSBRX, $35,000 USD but it made a nice capital gain so I moved the money over to PRHYX.

I also own a lot of AT&T in all of my brokerage accounts. Paying 6% dividend.

I like dividend and income equities. I have made a lot of money and am now at the point where I get over $20,000 USD every year in dividends and interest. Not much, but as I near retirement it is adding up. I could easily retire in Thailand if I wanted. But I am only 53 and right in the sweet spot of my maximum earning time of my career so I will work another two or three years. I am saving over $100,000 USD a year on this contract and it has been quite a windfall.

[ExpatJ]

i have lots of bonds and bond funds. I am a US citizen so I mention that because of the US income tax laws affect what I buy.

In my regular brokerage account I have lots of Municipal bonds and municipal bond funds. Their income is tax free, so even though their interest rate is a bit low, it is not taxed. You can research taxable equivalent yields. I own, PRTA, DRTAX, ABHYX and two individual Muni bonds. In my Traditional IRA, which is tax deferred, I have PRHYX and just bought a 5% bond from the Royal bank of scotland. In my ROTH IRA I own PRHYX and HYG. I had a lot of LSBRX, $35,000 USD but it made a nice capital gain so I moved the money over to PRHYX.

I also own a lot of AT&T in all of my brokerage accounts. Paying 6% dividend.

I like dividend and income equities. I have made a lot of money and am now at the point where I get over $20,000 USD every year in dividends and interest. Not much, but as I near retirement it is adding up. I could easily retire in Thailand if I wanted. But I am only 53 and right in the sweet spot of my maximum earning time of my career so I will work another two or three years. I am saving over $100,000 USD a year on this contract and it has been quite a windfall.

This is very useful- thanks.

I just bought Shell stock in the US as a long term dividend stock (@5 % p.a.), i also bought MOS a fertilizer company as long term buy to take advantage of rising food prices.

I also have 40% of my portfolio in Thai and Indonesia stocks- which markets are your dividend stocks in ?

[gk10002000]

i have lots of bonds and bond funds. I am a US citizen so I mention that because of the US income tax laws affect what I buy.

In my regular brokerage account I have lots of Municipal bonds and municipal bond funds. Their income is tax free, so even though their interest rate is a bit low, it is not taxed. You can research taxable equivalent yields. I own, PRTA, DRTAX, ABHYX and two individual Muni bonds. In my Traditional IRA, which is tax deferred, I have PRHYX and just bought a 5% bond from the Royal bank of scotland. In my ROTH IRA I own PRHYX and HYG. I had a lot of LSBRX, $35,000 USD but it made a nice capital gain so I moved the money over to PRHYX.

I also own a lot of AT&T in all of my brokerage accounts. Paying 6% dividend.

I like dividend and income equities. I have made a lot of money and am now at the point where I get over $20,000 USD every year in dividends and interest. Not much, but as I near retirement it is adding up. I could easily retire in Thailand if I wanted. But I am only 53 and right in the sweet spot of my maximum earning time of my career so I will work another two or three years. I am saving over $100,000 USD a year on this contract and it has been quite a windfall.

This is very useful- thanks.

I just bought Shell stock in the US as a long term dividend stock (@5 % p.a.), i also bought MOS a fertilizer company as long term buy to take advantage of rising food prices.

I also have 40% of my portfolio in Thai and Indonesia stocks- which markets are your dividend stocks in ?

I invest only in the US market, but some of the stocks I have of course have large over seas presence. I recently sold my Toyota. I just sold SDY, one of my dividend funds which had some companies in it that are overseas. I own a lot of ATT (T). 6% dividend and a very solid business.

Oh I forgot I also have OIBYX the Oppenheimer foreign bond fund. That seems to have a lot of South American things. I think South Americe is going to do well the next few years. Olympics, World Cup venues coming there.

I just don't have a lot of overseas investing experience. That 5% Royal Bank of Scotland bond I just purchased is my first "direct" overseas asset.

[Pinot]

I invest in a lot of Junk bond ETFs and Mutual Funds that return in the area of 7-10%, a couple even higher. Junk is probably a misnomer. These are just lower quality corporate bonds. Junk makes them sound more risky than they are. The biggest ETF Junk bond is JNK paying 10%. There is some volatility but as the world economy improves the bond failure rates go down the stronger these Junk bonds become. There has also been appreciation of the share price in addition to the interest received. I'm guessing the total return on Junk bond ETFs was routinely above 15% last year. I've had a 3% increase in share price on the Junk bond share prices in the first quarter of this year. I have found Junk bond mutual funds to be more stable and appreciate and pay interest at similar rates to the ETFs. JAHYX and STHTX are two I own. For ETFs look at DHF and PHT.

The good thing about ETFs and Mutual Fund junk bonds is that the risk is spread out rather than focusing on buying one bond. Junk bonds funds can be losers. The share prices do correlate with the overall market. A good day with the Dow usually means a good day for my funds with the opposite also true. The interest is paid monthly no matter what the share price. I would suggest the share price be closely monitored for downtrend in these kinds of investment with an exit price in mind. ETFs beat mutual funds for the ease you can get out of them since they're traded like stocks. Junk bonds look like a good long term bet at the moment. All this information is available online.

[exbelg]

it is possible that your bond of risk countries as greece, portugal, ireland, are worthless if they deceide NOT TO PAY BACK

K-bank ... 6 % ... step up program..3.43% average interest over 16 months, does any bank offer better?

[PCA]

it is possible that your bond of risk countries as greece, portugal, ireland, are worthless if they deceide NOT TO PAY BACK

K-bank ... 6 % ... step up program..3.43% average interest over 16 months, does any bank offer better?

I do very disagree with your statement. They all will pay back and if not then the EU (and it's an EU issue in the first place) will do it otherwise the Euro will take such a nosedive of which it will never recover. Those bonds are very attractive and safe at the same time, a rare combination.