Fixed income

Higher interest rates will be a welcome relief for retirees who live on income from bonds, CDs and money market funds; Plus, clients should not assume their former employers will manage their 401(k) assets after they resign.

An anticipated rate hike has led some advisors to rethink fixed-income allocations.

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William C. Dudley said he expects the U.S. central bank to raise interest rates by December, while cautioning that this was not a pledge to action and will depend on the economy staying on track.

Laddering is a good fixed-income strategy that will enable clients to earn higher yields and protect them from rate increases; Plus, how retirees can make money in the sharing economy.

An arbitration panel ordered the wirehouse to pay two former clients $250,000, a mere 10% of what they originally sought, in a case involving the sale of funds of Puerto Rican municipal bonds.

The role of bonds is to provide stability to a portfolio. But this only works when clients understand the true purpose behind their fixed income investments.

At 71, Bill Gross feels the weight of time. He figures he has a few good years left to prove the new Bill Gross is every bit as good as the old one. Maybe even better.

These products may offer better exposure and liquidity for your clients investing in the bond markets.

Muni experts expect outperformance by high credit-quality issues, a decline in refundings, troubled credits to dominate the headlines, and the Fed to raise rates in the second half of the year.

The Continent may offer clients the best hope of finding the next bond rally.

More than half of global employers surveyed by Vanguard say they intend to boost company contributions to 401(k) plans in the next five years; Plus, almost half of American workers (45%) are not saving for retirement.

Given the unpredictability in forecasting, betting on rates rising can be just as risky as taking the opposite stance.

The world's largest bond fund has cut back on U.S. securities as yields are expected to rise this year.

Even after defaults, high-yield bonds have earned above-market returns.

The plunge in oil prices has claimed another prominent victim.

Paul McCulley is leaving Pacific Investment Management less than a year after rejoining the firm, a departure that further diminishes the influence of co-founder Bill Gross at the $1.68 trillion money manager.

If the buck keeps rising, which investment tactics will offer the highest payoff for clients?

Some fixed-income funds behave like equities, failing to give sufficient downside protection to a diversified portfolio.

Analysts attribute the spate of municipal bankruptcies since 2011 to the aftereffects of the 2008 credit crisis and Great Recession, as well as changing attitudes about debt.

Municipal bond defaults, which increased to record levels last year as Detroit's bankruptcy boosted the total, may remain elevated this year.