Estimate Time6 min

Bonds: Short can be sweet

Key takeaways

  • In a rising-interest-rate environment, shorter-duration bonds may outperform longer-duration ones.
  • Short-duration bond funds come in a variety of flavors ranging from relatively conservative to aggressive.
  • Think about your personal situation, interest rates, and credit risk as you consider short-duration bonds.

It’s a confusing time for investors looking to preserve capital. Interest rates have risen sharply, but so has inflation which means yields on savings accounts are still effectively below zero. Meanwhile, those same rising rates are also increasing the risk that prices of many long-term bonds may decline.

In this environment, you may want to consider short-duration bonds.

What are short term bonds?

Short term bonds have long been popular with investors searching for more yield than they may get from savings accounts or money market funds, and who are wary of rising interest rates.

"Short duration strategies may be appealing in this interest rate environment, but there are a lot of differences among short-duration funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), so you need to choose carefully," says Rob Galusza, manager of Fidelity® Conservative Income Bond Fund (FCONX).

Deciding whether a short-duration strategy makes sense for you and choosing the right one requires you to understand your own investing goals, risk tolerance, and financial needs. It's also important to understand how duration and credit quality might play out in different market conditions. Duration is a measure of interest rate risk.* (Read: Duration: Understanding the relationship between bond prices and interest rates.)

Finding your flavor of short duration

Compared to long-duration bond funds of similar credit quality, short-duration funds are generally less sensitive to rising rates, but have lower yields. These differences in rate sensitivity and yield can also exist among the various short-duration funds and ETFs on the market. For example, the Morningstar ultrashort bond fund category has an average duration of 1 year or less. However, some short-term bond funds' durations are as high as 3.5 years.

If interest rates rise within a short period of time, shorter-duration bonds may experience lower price volatility relative to longer-duration bonds. If the credit quality of most companies remains good, it may favor higher-yielding, lower-quality bonds. However, high-yield bonds might underperform investment-grade bonds if credit conditions worsen.

Different flavors of short duration

Different flavors of short
For illustration only. Definitions may vary.

What to consider

If you have decided that a short-duration strategy makes sense for you, consider your personal situation, your overall asset allocation, and your expectations about markets.

Your goals

How soon will you need the money, and how much volatility or risk of loss can you tolerate? The less willing you are to risk losses or the sooner you may need the money, the more you may want to think about conservative, short-duration, high-credit-quality options.

The market outlook

If you expect long-term rates to stay low for a long time, you may want to consider longer-duration options. If you think long-term rates may rise, you might want to look at the shorter-duration end of the spectrum.

Credit risk

Right now, defaults may be low and if you think that will continue, you might consider high-yield short-duration bonds. If you think the economy may slow and defaults may rise, you might want to stick with investment-grade bond funds or brokered CDs that come with FDIC insurance to protect up to $250,000 of an investor's deposits in each bank.

Inflation

Rising prices pose a risk, particularly to the most conservative short-duration strategies. Inflation can eat into the value of bond returns and could affect the lowest-yielding bonds the most. If you think inflation will continue to rise, you may want to consider higher-yielding short-duration bonds or shorter-maturity Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS).

Different situations, different strategies

Let's look at 3 hypothetical investors who are considering short-duration funds for different reasons. These simplified examples look at credit quality, yield, and duration. You will also want to consider cost, performance, transaction costs, and other criteria when making a decision. In addition, you might want to consider owning individual bonds, a bond or CD ladder, or other options along with bond funds. (To learn more about the role of individual securities, read Bonds vs. bond funds.)

1. Sonia wants to boost her retirement income

Sonia is a retiree who holds enough cash to cover about 18 months of expenses in a bank savings account. She has been frustrated by low yields in recent years. While she is risk averse and knows she will need that money in the short to intermediate term, she is willing to explore other options to increase income, as long as she remains comfortable with the amount of risk it adds.

She decides to keep a third of her expense money in a government money market fund to cover expenses over the next 6 months. She puts the rest of her cash in a very conservative, investment-grade short-duration bond fund with an index duration of just 0.36 years. The index yield is low, but it's a meaningful increase from the yield on her cash and the high credit quality and low duration means a level of risk she thinks she can live with.

2. Hank wants to shift his asset mix

Hank is 50 years old and is saving for a retirement that will begin in 10 years. He has an investment mix designed for growth, which includes 25% in long-duration bonds and 5% in cash.

Hank is worried that rising interest rates would hurt the performance of his bond portfolio, and he wants to explore ways to limit the impact while maintaining an allocation to bonds in his investment mix.

Hank decides to move part of his bond holdings to short-duration bonds or bond funds. Because of his concern about rising rates, he decides to invest in a mix of investment-grade bond funds and high-yield corporate short-duration bond funds.

By moving a portion of his investments to short duration, Hank has decreased the interest rate risk of his portfolio, while increasing the diversification of his bond holdings by adding a greater variety of maturities and issuers. At the same time, by choosing high-yield and investment-grade corporates, he has tried to earn more yield than other short-term options and accepted the increased risk.

3. Jacob is saving for a vacation home

Jacob has been saving in a broadly diversified bond fund to buy a second home to enjoy on vacations and in retirement. He expects to have saved enough in about 3 years. He is concerned about the risk of losses in the future and wants to explore short-duration options that would help insulate his nonretirement portfolio from the risk of rising rates.

Jacob knows his time frame is about 3 years, and he's looking to match it to the duration of a bond fund. He chooses a defined maturity fund whose price sensitivity to interest rate changes declines gradually over time. The high credit quality of the fund he chose and a duration that matches his timeline makes him confident that he can live with the risk involved as his investment timeline comes to an end.

Researching ideas

Those who want to add short-term bonds to their portfolios can get exposure through self-managed portfolios of individual bonds and CDs, mutual funds, and ETFs. Learn more about fixed income investing.

Fidelity has a number of tools to help investors research mutual funds and ETFs including the Mutual Fund Evaluator and ETF screener on Fidelity.com. Below are the results of some illustrative screens (these are not recommendations of Fidelity).

Fidelity funds

  • Fidelity® Conservative Income Bond Fund (FCONX)
  • Fidelity® Short-Term Bond Fund (FSHBX)
  • Fidelity® Short-Term Bond Index Fund (FNSOX)
  • Fidelity® Limited Term Bond Fund (FJRLX)

Fidelity  ETFs

  • Fidelity® Low Duration Bond Factor ETF (FLDR)
  • Fidelity® Limited Term Bond ETF (FLTB)

Search Fidelity funds

Find investment options to meet your goals.

Before investing, consider the funds' investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. Contact Fidelity for a prospectus or, if available, a summary prospectus containing this information. Read it carefully.

Views expressed are as of the date indicated, based on the information available at that time, and may change based on market or other conditions. Unless otherwise noted, the opinions provided are those of the speaker or author and not necessarily those of Fidelity Investments or its affiliates. Fidelity does not assume any duty to update any of the information.

1. Duration is measure of a security’s price sensitivity to interest rate changes. Duration differs from maturity in that it considers a security’s interest rate payments in addition to the amount of time until the security reaches maturity, and also takes into account certain maturity shortening features (including interest rate resets and call options) when applicable. Securities with longer durations tend to be more sensitive to interest rate changes than securities with shorter durations. A fund with a longer average duration is generally expected to be more sensitive to interest rate changes than a fund with a shorter average duration.

Exchange-traded products (ETPs) are subject to market volatility and the risks of their underlying securities, which may include the risks associated with investing in smaller companies, foreign securities, commodities, and fixed income investments. Foreign securities are subject to interest rate, currency exchange rate, economic, and political risks, all of which are magnified in emerging markets. ETPs that target a small universe of securities, such as a specific region or market sector, are generally subject to greater market volatility, as well as to the specific risks associated with that sector, region, or other focus. ETPs that use derivatives, leverage, or complex investment strategies are subject to additional risks. The return of an index ETP is usually different from that of the index it tracks because of fees, expenses, and tracking error. An ETP may trade at a premium or discount to its net asset value (NAV) (or indicative value in the case of exchange-traded notes). The degree of liquidity can vary significantly from one ETP to another and losses may be magnified if no liquid market exists for the ETP's shares when attempting to sell them. Each ETP has a unique risk profile, detailed in its prospectus, offering circular, or similar material, which should be considered carefully when making investment decisions.

The Fidelity Mutual Fund Evaluator is a research tool provided to help self-directed investors evaluate these types of securities. The criteria and inputs entered are at the sole discretion of the user, and all screens or strategies with preselected criteria (including expert ones) are solely for the convenience of the user. Information supplied or obtained from these Screeners is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice or guidance, an offer of or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell securities, or a recommendation or endorsement by Fidelity of any security or investment strategy. Fidelity does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy or approach to screening or evaluating stocks, preferred securities, exchange-traded products, or closed-end funds. Fidelity makes no guarantees that information supplied is accurate, complete, or timely, and does not provide any warranties regarding results obtained from its use. Determine which securities are right for you based on your investment objectives, risk tolerance, financial situation, and other individual factors, and reevaluate them on a periodic basis.

Fidelity does not provide legal or tax advice. The information herein is general in nature and should not be considered legal or tax advice. Consult an attorney or tax professional regarding your specific situation.

Treasury bond fund interest dividends are generally exempt from state income tax, but are generally subject to federal income tax and alternative minimum taxes and may be subject to state alternative minimum taxes.

Investors considering investments in bond funds should know that, generally speaking, the bond market is volatile, and fixed income securities carry interest rate risk. (As interest rates rise, bond prices usually fall, and vice versa. This effect is usually more pronounced for longer-term securities.) Fixed income securities also carry inflation risk and credit and default risks for both issuers and counterparties. Unlike individual bonds, most bond funds do not have a maturity date, so holding them until maturity to avoid losses caused by price volatility is not possible.

High-yield/non-investment-grade bonds involve greater price volatility and risk of default than investment-grade bonds.

The municipal market can be affected by adverse tax, legislative or political changes and the financial condition of the issuers of municipal securities.

Although municipal funds seek to provide interest dividends exempt from federal income taxes and some of these funds may seek to generate income that is also exempt from the federal alternative minimum tax, outcomes cannot be guaranteed, and the funds may generate some income subject to these taxes. Income from these funds is usually subject to state and local income taxes. Generally, municipal securities are not appropriate for tax-advantaged accounts such as IRAs and 401(k)s

Interest rate increases can cause the price of a money market security to decrease

A decline in the credit quality of an issuer or a provider of credit support or a maturity-shortening structure for a security can cause the price of a money market security to decrease.

As with all your investments through Fidelity, you must make your own determination whether an investment in any particular security or securities is consistent with your investment objectives, risk tolerance, financial situation, and evaluation of the security. Fidelity is not recommending or endorsing this investment by making it available to its customers.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC, Member NYSE, SIPC, 900 Salem Street, Smithfield, RI 02917

704078.7.1