For a slightly longer duration, investors can turn to short-term bond ETFs, such as the Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF (NYSEArca: BSV) and iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF (NYSEArca: SHY), which track one- to three-year Treasuries.
The iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF (NYSEArca: FLOT), SPDR Barclays Investment Grade Floating Rate (NYSEArca: FLRN) and Market Vectors Investment Grade Floating Rate (NYSEArca: FLTR) all track investment-grade bonds with a floating rate component, which automatically adjust at periodic intervals in response to changes in the interest rates.
On the other end of the barbell strategy, investors can turn to intermediate term, corporates and U.S. Treasuries.
Investment-grade corporate bond exposure include the iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (NYSEArca: LQD), Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF (NYSEArca: VCIT) and SPDR Barclays Intermediate Term Corporate Bond ETF (NYSEArca: ITR).
For intermediate U.S. Treasuries exposure, investors can consider the iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF (NYSEArca: IEF), Schwab Intermediate-Term U.S. Treasury ETF (NYSEArca: SCHR) and Vanguard Intermediate-Term Government Bond ETF (NYSEArca: VGIT).
Jones also believes more conservative municipal bonds, notably those that focus on general obligation debt, are also a solid choice. General obligation bonds are backed by a municipality’s taxing power, or typically from property taxes, for debt service payments. The iShares National AMT-Free Muni Bond ETF (NYSEArca: MUB), SPDR Nuveen Barclays Municipal Bond ETF (NYSEArca: TFI) and Market Vectors Intermediate Municipal Index ETF (NYSEArca: ITM) provide broad exposure to intermediate-duration municipal debt.
For more information on the fixed-income market, visit our bond ETFs category.