In anticipation of a rising interest rate environment, fixed-income investors should consider exchange traded funds that track floating rate notes.
Should expectations of higher interest rates gain momentum, it would not be surprising to see investors embrace floating rate exchange traded funds as additions to fixed income portfolios.
Related: 41 Target Maturity Bond ETFs for Rising Rates
Floating rate notes, like the name suggests, have a floating interest rate. Specifically, the notes’ have a so-called reset period with interest rates tied to a benchmark, such as the Fed funds, LIBOR, prime rate or U.S. Treasury bill rate. Due to their short reset periods, these floating rate funds have relatively low rate risk.
As a result of the safe and conservative nature of floating rate bonds, investors should not expect high yields. Nevertheless, Treasury money market funds are so starved for yield that anything with an extra basis point or two and the quality and liquidity of a Treasury security will provide an attractive alternative.