Local Seminar Focuses on Understanding Bond Investment

BRADENTON -- With interest rates at historic, rock-bottom lows, most bonds are trading at a premium. But when interest rates go up, those premiums are bound to evaporate. Some investors are strategically capturing such gains now and shifting into shorter duration, fixed-income portfolios. Local financial adviser Evan Guido has been offering free local seminars to help people understand bond investment and see if certain kinds of bonds might be a good fit for their investment portfolios.

Guido, who is Vice President of Wealth Management with Baird's Sarasota office, says that the long-term lag in interest rates have forced many of his clients to look to less traditional investments when seeking safe retirement income. Guido's practice is largely focused on developing strategies for those who are transitioning into retirement, or who are already there but whose plans have been altered by the economic downturn of recent years. For those who are averse to filling too much of their portfolios with stocks, real estate or commodities, bonds have become a hot topic.

In fact, the volume of questions about bonds has been so great that Guido's been holding regular seminars in both Manatee and Sarasota Counties. With the looming fiscal cliff and constant talk of higher taxes in the upper brackets, municipal bonds are a popular way to strategically put money into a low-risk investment, with a tax-free status.

Because they are generally considered second only to U.S. Treasuries in terms of risk, highly-rated municipal bonds have become an alternative to CD's and other low-risk investments whose almost non-existent interest rates have made them less popular among those seeking income in retirement. Guido conducts free seminars at the Bradenton Country Club each Tuesday and Thursday at 9:30 a.m. He also offers them at his Sarasota office on the top floor of One Sarasota Tower at 10 a.m. Wednesdays and 3 p.m. Thursdays.

Related:

Municipal Bond Basics