Why you need bonds in your portfolio

I recently wrote why you need bonds in your portfolio. I do have a confession to make, in my retirement accounts, I invest 100% in stocks. 

Why you need bonds in your portfolio

When I made the case as to why you need to have some of your portfolio allocated to bonds, I outlined the conditions necessary for a 100% stock portfolio to make sense. 

You May Not Need Need Bonds in Your Portfolio

Avoid Market Timing

Market timing is a nice story. However, research suggests that the stock market is efficient. If the stock market is efficient, all available information will be reflected in stock prices.

Let’s say I was 31 years old on the eve of the financial crisis and I had 100% of my retirement portfolio invested in the S&P 500. 

My investment timeline allows me to withstand short term volatility 

Why you should invest in bonds 

If you don’t have a multi-decade time horizon to retirement or you aren’t comfortable with massive short term volatility than you absolutely need to allocate a chunk of your portfolio into bonds.

The standard stock-bond allocation for a diversified portfolio has been a 60-40 split between stocks and bonds. Historically, a 60-40 bond allocation has done quite well.

How much should you have in Bonds?

The rule of 110 is a rule of thumb that says the percentage of your money invested in stocks should be equal to 110 minus your age.

The Rule of 110

Right now I still have 100% of my retirement portfolio in stocks. As I get older I will become much more conservative and begin allocating more of my portfolio to bonds.

Bottom Line