If there’s been a constant theme over the last ten years, it has to be the search for meaningful income solutions. As the Fed has kept benchmark rates at close to zero for roughly a decade since the end of the recession/credit crisis, retirees have had to think outside the box when it comes to finding real yields. After all, buying traditional income-focused products, like CDs or money market funds, isn’t going to cut it.
However, all has seemed right in the world of fixed income in recent months as the Fed finally raised rates. Income seekers rejoiced. They could score higher yields in more traditional fixed-income products again.
Or at least, that was the pervasive idea.
It turns out that even with the Fed raising benchmark rates, finding income is still hard to come by. Investors may not want to abandon their current plans.
Check out our dividend investing ideas center to explore popular trends.
Where Are the Higher Rates?
In case you haven’t noticed, your bank’s CD rates haven’t gotten very fat. Neither have the yields on shorter-term bond offerings like the iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF (ISTB). This kind of flies in the face of what everyone has been thinking.
