Paul Sullivan, in his Wealth Matters column this week, discusses higher-yielding, but safe, alternatives to United States Treasuries and other high-grade bonds. Those bonds have long been the favorites of older investors because they were a safe way to guarantee income. At the moment, though, they’re barely generating income.

And most anyone near retirement or already there has been wary of investing in the stock market, given the turbulence there.

So what other choices do older investors have? One alternative, Paul writes, puts aside four years of expenses in safe bonds, leaving the rest of the portfolio to grow. A second investor he spoke with avoids stocks and invests instead in real estate investment trusts, master limited partnerships (most often companies involved in the transportation of natural resources) and annuities.

What has been your investment strategy, given the low interest rates and a volatile stock market?

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=5ef3e4b75b223295bc98aad87830009d