You can do that well with a municipal bond fund, which is much safer.
In 2012, the average municipal bond fund had a total return yield plus price appreciation of 8%.
If you hold municipal bonds, you might hold a New York municipal bond fund.
But I was amused over the pre-Thanksgiving weekend, reading all the quotes from municipal bond fund managers saying that muni buyers are stepping up their buying.
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And his ten-year-old Deutsche Municipal Bond Fund did 7.26%, versus 5.98% for the Lehman Five Year General Obligation Index, putting it in the top 4% of its class.
If you are an investor in a municipal bond fund that yields above average returns, you can be sure there are a few tobacco settlement bonds in the mix.
Sotirios Keros, a 39-year-old pediatric neurologist in New York, says he plans to shift his emergency reserve to a long-term municipal bond fund when his CDs mature this summer.
Finally, do-it-yourself municipal bond investors have access to timely financials, material events and disclosures at the same electronic speed as a Fidelity, Vanguard or Pimco municipal bond fund does.
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Municipal bond ETFs are nothing new. iShares, SPDR and PowerShares all offer municipal bond ETFs that either focus on particular states, like the iShares California AMT-Free Municipal Bond Fund ETF ( CMF), or provide national exposure to munis, like the Insured National Municipal Bond Portfolio ETF ( PZA) from PowerShares.
Another factor that influences the municipal bond market is mutual fund flows.
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If you own municipal bond funds that out-yield the competition, then chances are the fund is chock full of tobacco bonds.
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with long technical names often use catchy or easy-to-remember symbols in order to bolster their marketability as well as indicate their portfolios. (NYSE: MUNI) is the ticker for Pimco Intermediate Muni Bond Strategy ETF which invests in municipal bonds, while (NYSE: CORN) represents Teucrium Corn Fund ETF that tracks the price of corn.
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