Higher interest rates are here and thats what makes these

Higher interest rates are here, and that’s what makes these vanilla investments compelling

For investors weary of this year’s volatility in stocks and bonds, a stable financial corner is beginning to look enticing. The Federal Reserve just hiked interest rates by 0.75 percentage point and Fed Chair Jerome Powell has hinted that a similar hike could be on the cards in July. Recession fears have also had investors on edge, as the S&P 500 has fallen nearly 23% for the year and bond yields rose to multi-year highs just last week. Suddenly, Treasury bills or T-bills, Series I savings bonds, and high-yield savings accounts are looking hot—at least for some of your holdings. “For the part of your portfolio that you need to keep safe, cash looks more attractive,” said Christine Benz, Morningstar’s director of personal finance. When choosing the right “safe” asset, investors need to make a trade-off between three priorities: yield, stability and liquidity, she said. “If people want to think about those three things on their dashboard, it can help determine where to look and which instruments to prefer.” T-Bills — starting to show promise, said Charles Failla, a chartered financial planner and a director at Sovereign Financial Group. Managing these instruments involves buying issues of different maturities in the same portfolio. Three- to six-month T-bills, available on TreasuryDirect.gov, can also be an attractive place to hoard cash as interest rates rise. Rates for 3-month T-bills are around 1.6%, while 6-month T-bills offer a rate of around 2.2% on June 17th. Allan Roth, founder of Wealth Logic, said he continues to recommend the Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund (BND) along with two-year Treasury notes. “If you buy longer-dated bonds, it might work well, but you have more interest rate risk without more profit,” he said. Municipal bonds can also be an option for investors seeking tax-free income; They are exempt from federal taxes and, if the buyer resides in the state where the bond is issued, from state taxes. “Even if the municipal bond pays less nominally than corporate bonds of similar quality, the fact is that the income comes to you tax-free,” Failla said. Series I savings bonds, also available on TreasuryDirect.gov, currently offer an interest rate of 9.62%. These bonds are also inflation protected and exempt from state and local income taxes. Here’s the catch: you can redeem them after a year, but you’ll lose the interest of the last three months if you redeem them five years ago. “You wouldn’t want that whole amount in I-Bonds,” said Benjamin Brandt, CFP and founder of Capital City Wealth Management. He recommends it as an “interim investment” for clients who have an excess amount saved for emergencies and are comfortable locking up a small amount of it in an I-Bond. Finding Liquidity Certificates of Deposit are another option, but there is usually a penalty for “breaking” the CD before it matures. If you want access to your cash at all times, a high-yield savings account might do the trick. In fact, banks like Discover, Capital One, and Barclays offer returns of about 0.9% on their online savings accounts, according to Bankrate.com. A few, like Citizens Access, offer 1.25% but you must deposit at least $5,000. Just make sure to read the fine print. “Teaser pricing is something to watch out for,” Benz said. “Make sure there are no strings attached to the returns you see.”