Bond Investing for Dummies

I wanted to learn about investing in bonds and this book certainly helped me in that regard. After reading it, I decided it would be better for me to use low-cost bond funds or ETFs, but that may not be the case for others. Russell is an entertaining writer and makes things very clear. I especially appreciated the discussion of bond risks, since I had always thought of them as relatively risk free. But alas, no free lunches here either.

This is an excellent book. It's well-written and presented in an easy-to-understand way with a lot of humor added to make reading it enjoyable. I learned a lot about bond investing from reading it and, in fact, after reading it, I ordered Russell's ETF Investing For Dummies and his Index Fund Investing for Dummies. In short, I highly recommend the book for anyone needing good, basic information about bond investing. That said, there are a couple things that I found disappointing about the book but I want to emphasize that those things are minor and the fact that this part of my review is longer shouldn't lead someone to believe that I didn't like the book. I did! It simply means it takes a bit longer to explain those minor negatives. First, I was disappointed that Russell didn't go into more detail about investing in bonds during these historic low interest rate times. The rates were low when wrote the book and he acknowledges that. But although he insists that everyone should have bonds in their portfolio, he really doesn't address the issue of investing in bonds (or bond funds which he prefers for most people) when the interest rates really only have one way to go at this time and that's up. And when that happens, bond holders are going to take a hit. These are very unusual times that require different strategies but Russell really didn't deal with that to my satisfaction. Russell mentions a study done that makes a very convincing argument that even older and retired investors should only have about 15% in bonds. Russell was impressed with that study and yet he still advises that investors should have about 30 to 50% of their portfolio in bonds, depending on their age. My father passed away two years ago when he was nearly 102 years old and I inherited 1/4 of his portfolio. It turns out that he had only a very small investment in bonds and he did very well over the years. If I remember correctly (I have reallocated the portfolio) he only had about 7% or so in bonds. And he made it through the 2007/2008 drop in very good condition and prospered. He had been investing since before the Great Depression and he was a conservative investor even though he clearly didn't favor having a high percentage of his portfolio invested in bonds, which is consistent with the study Russell mentions. But he did have a high percentage of his investments in dividend stocks, including utilities, energy stocks, and a lot invested in a couple closed-end preferred funds, one of which has never missed a dividend payment since it's inception in 1929. Those investments apparently took the place of a heavy investment in bonds for my father and it worked fine for him over many decades. A couple more nit-picking things that I'm almost embarrassed to mention but I will. But don't let these remarks turn you away from this very good book: Unfortunately, Russell had to make a few snide remarks about gun owners and people who own pickup trucks, etc. It was done to be funny but it was unnecessary. It also appears that Russell is very liberal because he mentions that any politician who refuses to vote to raise taxes when our national debt skyrockets (as it has) is insane. He never even considers the possibility of cutting spending in his little rant. I got the impression that Russell is a tax & spend liberal and he mentions his buddy, Bill Clinton. (Clinton actually did a pretty good job with the economy, though.) But these things were a hint to me that Russell may not share the same ideas I have when it comes to handling money. He mentions that, when he was a kid, his big hardship was that his 15-foot boat only had a 25 h.p. motor that made it slow getting around from his Long Island home. The horrors! (In fairness, he mentions this with a sense of humor but, even so, it reveals that he must have had a very sheltered childhood. No big deal, though, but it is consistent with some other things he mentions that made me think that we don't share the same ideas, even when they apply to investing.) One more tiny thing. Russell mentions in the book that he is a fee-only financial planner. That's great! Fee-only planners are the only way to go, in my opinion, if you need a planner. Out of curiosity, I went to his website. What I found didn't impress me very much. It seemed a bit "rinky-dinky," in fact. Dig a little deeply into the site and you may see what I mean although you may not agree with my conclusion, of course. It paints a picture (by my interpretation) of a guy running a little business out of a small house (nothing wrong with that but it may indicate how successful he is as an investor - or it may just mean that he lives way within his means and I highly respect that if that's the case. But it does raise a question about how good of an investor he is.) I went to a dentist who had rotten teeth once and that gave me pause about whether he was the dentist for me and that's the way I felt after navigating Russell's website. It left me wondering if he is an "expert" who is better at teaching others than actually doing what he teaches. And although his fees are probably in line with those of other planners, I don't know why I would hire him when he recommends a plan that anyone could simply do for themselves. Basically, you would be consistent with Russell's ideas if you simply built a 3-fund portfolio such as those advocated by Bogleheads, etc., and re balance it periodically. So why pay someone $6,000 or more per year (Russell's fees) to re balance an index fund portfolio? But I admit that this really has nothing to do with the value of the book. Again, I feel embarrassed for bringing those negatives up and I want to stress that I liked the book enough that I ordered two more of Russell's "For Dummies" books. I recommend this book for anyone new to bond investing, like myself. It was very helpful.

Very practical advice, explained clearly and reasonably balanced. Even though book is about bonds it does not diminish the importance of equities in a balanced portfolio. A must read for anyone that wants to venture into the world of investing in their own.

Extremely informative and well written. I had good understanding of stock diversification but truly benefited from the author's presentation of how to choose and construct the bond side of portfolio. Thank you Mr. Wild!

Is too general, with little help on how to read and interpret the bond sales charts. I've read it, and I'm still a dummy.

For those who want factual and informative info about bonds and bond investing, this is the bond bible to read. All in one resource. I highly recommend it.

Explains bond vocabulary and the function of bonds very well. I now feel comfortable investing with bonds as a part of my portfolio

In an effort toward simplicity much is lost in this book. Swedroe, Bernstein, Bogle, Larimore, Buffet. Get them. Then get online to the "Bogleheads forum", or Morningstar forum. They are a must for personal investment finance for retirees and those working toward a healthy retirement.

Etat convenable de l'ouvrage .Il est arrivé dans le créneau prévu. Introduction très claire et très pédagogique à un sujet aride mais fondamental en économie.

L' autore è logorroico e il succo del libro alla fine dei conti non è particolarmente centrato sul mercato obbligazionario. L'unica cosa veramente utile (il calcolo della soglia fair di vendita e acquisto dei bond già emessi rispetto alle cedole residue) alla fine non è neanche effettivamente presentata. Non mi ha particolarmente impressionato per qualità e tutto sommato si sovrappone anche parecchio ad altri testi della stessa serie.