“It gives the income and stability of a bond with the potential for appreciation from the stock market,” Zalatimo said. “It allows you to increase your exposure to bonds, but not necessarily lose out” in times of low yield.
Russell D. Francis, owner of Portland Fixed Income Specialists, also adds that investors can consider U.S. Treasury inflation-protected securities.
ETF investors can fight inflation and diminish rate risk with short-term TIP ETFs. The FlexShares iBoxx 3-Year Target Duration TIPS Index Fund (NYSEArca: TDTT) has a 2.97 year duration and a 5.82% 30-day SEC yield and PIMCO 1-5 Year U.S. TIPS ETF (NYSEArca: STPZ) has a 2.02 year duration and a 4.13% 30-day SEC yield. [Short-Term TIPS ETFs to Fight Inflation, Hedge Rising Rates]
White also suggests floating-rate bank loans, which reset rates every month or two months and come with low durations. The PowerShares Senior Loan Portfolio (NYSEArca: BKLN) has a 4.32% 30-day SEC yield and a reset period of 30 days, and SPDR Blackstone/GSO Senior Loan ETF (NYSEArca: SRLN) has a 4.21% 30-day SEC yield and a average reset period of 32 days. [Ins and outs of Bank Loan ETFs]
For more information on fixed-income investments, visit our bond ETFs category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.