Understanding Fixed Income Investments
When building an investment portfolio, you will consider cash, fixed
investments and equity investments. Fixed investments refer to income
investments which are loans made to the underlying organization who
agrees to pay you a fixed amount of interest over time. If you have
an interest bearing savings account, you are already leveraging this
type of investment. Your bank or financial institution is paying you
interest in return for placing your funds into their account. Most fixed
investments refer to bonds, loans made to an issuer such as the U.S.
government or a corporation.
Fixed investments play an important role in a retiree’s portfolio
as they can create a current income stream which can be utilized to
cover household expenditures, and they can provide an offset to volatility
experienced within an investment portfolio from equity investments.
Bonds typically provide interest payments over a long period of time,
and as such, generally offer a lower return than equity investments.

