What’s a Fixed Income Investor To Do?

By Craig Allen

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With the looming end to QE3 (quantitative easing round 3) the Fed’s massive $85 billion per month bond buying program designed to hold long-term interest rates artificially low, fixed income investors, and particularly those dependent on the income generated from their portfolio for living expenses, face a formidable challenge – how to invest in a rising interest rate environment without losing their shirt.

The theory behind the Fed’s bond buying program is that, if interest rates remain low, borrowing costs are also low, and therefore individuals and companies will borrow more, spend more, and thereby stimulate economic growth. The consumer spending side of this equation is particularly important, since consumer spending accounts for about 70% of total economic activity in the U.S. each year.

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