On today’s Intelligent Money Minute, we interview Morningstar’s director of personal finance, Christine Benz on low-yield bonds. During this episode, Christine gives her perspective on what retirees can do in the current low-yield environment. She encourages retirees to consider a total return approach to their portfolios. Each year take a step back and determine the best place to pull cash flows. Christine believes the best location for retirees to go for cash flows is hiding in plain sight. In their appreciated equity holdings. Trimming appreciated holdings is a way to supply cash flows for a couple of years while reducing risk in the portfolio. The key is to not be dogmatic about your income, but being a tad eclectic in your approach.
At Intelligent Investing, we believe in a total return approach when it comes to our clients’ income needs By combining both ordinary income from dividends and interest along with selling appreciated investments that have capital gains, we can help supplement our retiree’s cash needs from the portfolio. By not being dogmatic, we believe the flexibility provides more tax planning opportunities and may lower the tax burden from solely focusing on just dividends or interest which can be taxed at much higher rates. To learn more about our philosophy, please visit investedwithyou.com.
We’ll be interviewing Christine on several podcasts regarding retirement strategies, passive investing, and diversification, so be sure to subscribe to our Intelligent Money Minute podcasts.
Christine Benz Bio
Christine Benz is Morningstar’s director of personal finance and author of 30-Minute Money Solutions: A Step-by-Step Guide to Managing Your Finances and the Morningstar Guide to Mutual Funds: 5-Star Strategies for Success. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and Russian/East European studies from the University of Illinois. Christine lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, Greg. She is an avid cook, a political junkie, and a long-suffering Chicago Cubs fan. Follow Christine on Twitter.