Times they are a-changin’…

With COVID vaccinations becoming widespread, savings rates high, and consumers ready to spend, the economy is reopening and rebounding with gusto.

All of these developments are creating new opportunities and challenges for bond investors. Bond prices fall when interest rates rise and vice versa. After a 40-year bull market in bonds, with interest rates declining to record lows, has the bottom finally been reached after many false starts? How real is this uptick in rates and what does it mean for bond investors?

Our guest on WEALTHTRACK this week is Mary Ellen Stanek, Chief Investment Officer of Baird Advisors, and President of the Baird Funds, where she heads up the Fixed Income Team overseeing $91 billion dollars worth of bond investments.

Stanek discusses the rapidly changing conditions and her team’s all-weather bond strategy in what she calls uncharted waters.

WEALTHTRACK Episode #1747; Originally Broadcast on May 21, 2021

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MARY ELLEN STANEK

Chief Investment Officer
Baird Advisors

ACTION POINT

HAVE SOME “SLEEP INSURANCE” IN YOUR PORTFOLIO

Several “Sleep Insurance” strategies:

Stanek’s Baird Aggregate Bond fund strategy: Own high quality, intermediate-term bonds
Tom Atteberry’s FPA New Income Fund strategy: Protect capital & purchasing power by beating inflation
Robert Kessler’s strategy: Portfolios of U.S. Treasury bonds of various maturities

ONE INVESTMENT

SMALL-CAP ANCHOR

Buy a well-run, diversified small-cap stock fund:

Potential for faster growth
Higher returns over time
Choose an experienced manager with good process

FROM THE ARCHIVE

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WEB EXTRA

OPEN FOR BUSINESS

Mary Ellen Stanek and her team took an unusual route during COVID. They kept their offices open for business. She explains why they made that choice and how it worked out.