A. If you are looking for investment income in this low interest rate environment, below are some good options:
1. Municipal Bonds
This is suitable for people in high tax brackets because investment proceeds are exempt from federal income tax. For example, Fidelity Municipal Income 2019 offers modest return *yield 1.1%) and low risk. If you can take a little more risk, you can consider SPDR Nuveen S&P High Yield Municipal Bond ETF that pays out 5.1%.
2. Investment-grade Bonds
Yields on high-quality corporate debt have risen over the last year. Three funds worth a look: Metropolitan West Unconstrained Bond (2.3% yield), DoubleLine Total Return Bond (3.4%), and Pimco Income Fund (3.7%).
3. REITs
REIT share prices look cheap in comparison with the value of their property holdings. Schwab U.S. REIT, an ETF, pays 3.6% from a large REIT portfolio. Hospitality Properties Trust (6.3%) leases space to hotel operators. Realty Income (4.2%) is a giant that pays dividends every month.
If you could take a little more risk,, you could have other higher yield options, please see our next blog post.