It is mid-May, and the markets are up about 15% year-to-date for 2013. The question: Is it time to sell appreciated stocks to fulfill the liquidity needs that we avoided providing for when the markets were down? Our Ten Year Rule investment philosophy allows us to weather a down market by providing liquidity 10 years prior to when the money is actually needed. Thus, if the market is down, you are not forced to sell stocks to cover your spending needs. Now that the market is up, is it time to provide for the eighth, ninth and tenth years’ liquidity?
The reason investors are hesitant to do so is our unusually low interest rate environment. Most are not interested in tying up 10 year money in a Treasury that yields less than 2%. One strategy is to take money from your general stock portfolio and move it to an income portfolio to cover the eighth, ninth and tenth years’ needs. The minute interest rates begin to rise, you can then take the money and invest in the Treasury bonds. With a portfolio of high quality dividend-paying stocks, an investor may be able to earn 4% to 7% in dividends, which is far better than what Treasurys are paying.
If you cannot afford the market risk of an additional stock portfolio, we recommend placing your money in one-year CDs. If you keep the maturity short, you will be able to reinvest in a year when, hopefully, interest rates are higher. We recommend that you avoid locking in your long-term money at today’s terribly low rates.
At Henssler Financial we believe you should Live Ready, which includes having a strategy for your 10-year liquidity needs. If you have questions regarding your liquidity needs, the experts at Henssler Financial will be glad to help. You may call us at 770-429-9166 or email at experts@henssler.com.