When the stock market crashes 35% in less than a month, it’s time to start looking for safe investments to take the stress out of investing.
But what are the safest investments and do you have to give up on a return that’s going to meet your financial goals? Here are the five safest investments you can make.
Investing in the Safety of Bonds
It’s much better to invest in a bond fund like the Vanguard Long-Term Bond ETF, ticker VCLT, or the iShares Investment Grade Corporate ETF, ticker LQD. You’ll be able to buy or sell these just like stocks with little or no fees.
How Safe are Preferred Shares?
Preferred shares are also higher up on the list of liquidation, so if a company files bankruptcy, preferred shareholders get paid before common stockholders but after creditors.
Investing in Safety Stocks
With these investments, you can pick individual stocks in the sectors or the entire sector through one of the funds. You’ll get a little more diversification and safety with the funds.
Dividend Stocks for Income Safety
Dividend stocks can produce outsized returns even compared to the rest of the market. The Vanguard Dividend Appreciation fund with its 1.8% dividend yield has provided a 12.4% total return annually over the last decade.
Building a Safe Portfolio of Investments
Combining the four safest investments; bonds, preferred shares, stocks of safety sectors and dividend stocks in a portfolio can still give you a total return of eight- to nine-percent a year along with dividend yields.