And the pair, like many Americans, have reached for yield in a junk bond fund.

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Sometimes (I own shares in a Fidelity junk bond fund) to corporations like yours.

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This gives their sophisticated in-house credit-analysis teams huge advantages over the junk bond fund managers and analysts.

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You can easily find a junk bond fund yielding 7%, but if you spend that whole amount you are certain to get poorer over time.

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You are stuck with the name, but anybody who owned a junk bond fund in 1991 and got a 40% or 50% return that year knows it's not junk.

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Stephen Leeb , editor of Personal Finance, recommends taking a chance on junk bonds via a well-managed fund like the PIMCO High Yield Bond Fund ( PHDAX) .

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Canyon Partners LLC, a money manager founded by bond experts from the former "junk"-bond shop Drexel Burnham Lambert, and CQS, a London hedge-fund firm founded by U.K. millionaire Michael Hintze, recently launched new investment funds to take advantage of bargains in distressed mortgage debt.

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In that case, you might look to a multisector bond fund that invests in many markets, such as lower-rated "junk" debt and foreign bonds, in search of higher yields.

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While Marilyn is willing to cherry pick junk bonds for some juicy yields at short maturities, she has also been telling investors that a bond fund bubble is forming and that it will pop soon.

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