Bring honour upon oneself Struthers, CFA, CFP®
Sona Financial, LLC, Minneapolis, MN
“Safe” is often a misused term. Most consider U.S. government treasuries as solid, because if held to maturity, they have a guaranteed return of principal. What is often missed is that inflation can deplete the purchasing power of that income stream and/or principal. Also, if you buy open-end bond mutual funds, you cannot retain them to maturity and you cannot ensure the return of principal. Depending on your age and intention, if you have a low risk tolerance and are looking for low-cost, undissembling options, then I-Bonds and Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPs) are great options. If you own them individually, they can be maintained to maturity and the government backs the return of principal. Plus, their values/payments are adjusted for inflation.