30
Taking the risk factors in consideration, this safety is a priority that many investors take seriously. As previously pointed out, it would be impossible to have an investment where there is no inherent risk, but some investments are perceived to be relatively safer than others. Here are a few of the safest assets to consider for your investment portfolio:Here are a few of the safest assets to consider for your investment portfolio:
- Treasury Bonds: A saving instrument backed by the U. S. government bodies is Treasury bonds, which is consider of extremely low risk profile. These are bonds that pay a fixed amount of interest and, as for the underlying guarantee, it is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States so they have relatively little risk of default.
- Certificates of Deposit (CDs): Certificates of Deposit can be described as minimal-risk financial instruments available to the public and institutions by banks and credit unions. CDs are financial products whereby you put your money with financial institutions for a certain period or term, which in this case is not less than three months and may even exceed 3 years and you are paid a predetermined amount of interest. As the CDs fall under the FDIC or NCUA insurance, they can guarantee almost full security of your money.
- Money Market Funds: Money market funds on the other hand invest in more secure instruments which have maturities of less than a year such as treasury bills, CDs and high rated corporate paper. These funds are expected to act as money market instruments, saving capital while supplementing the account with business cash flows; the average interest rate on these accounts is slightly higher than that of a current account. Overall, money market funds are very secure but it is important to select them wisely; those that came to your attention should have records of good performance; the fees that you pay should also be low.
- Blue-Chip Stocks: Blue-chip stocks are shares in large, reputable firms that are known to have a consistent revenue and paying good dividend yields. Blue chip stocks are significantly safer than other stocks because they embrace brands that are less sensitive to economic hiccups and therefore, come with lower risk than their junior colleagues.