When to move away from an all-stocks approach to include bonds

[jcarrera01]

I'm probably a couple of decades out (depending on how lazy I get) and I bought bonds this year. My current target allocation is 80-20. I'm going to see how that goes.

We also have a substantial amount of cash though, which performs a similar role to bonds in providing liquidity and smoothing out stock market drops.

Any recommendations on which bonds funds to buy through Rakuten/SBI ?

[RetireJapan]

Any recommendations on which bonds funds to buy through Rakuten/SBI ?

I just got the eMaxis Slim developed country bond fund.

[TokyoBoglehead]

I'm probably a couple of decades out (depending on how lazy I get) and I bought bonds this year. My current target allocation is 80-20. I'm going to see how that goes.

We also have a substantial amount of cash though, which performs a similar role to bonds in providing liquidity and smoothing out stock market drops.

Any recommendations on which bonds funds to buy through Rakuten/SBI ?

Total bond market? Government debt? Developed, Emerging? Private Debt? Yen Denominated? Dollar denominated?

Hedged or unhedged?

The Bond market is huge.

[Butterball]

Any recommendations on which bonds funds to buy through Rakuten/SBI ?

I just got the eMaxis Slim developed country bond fund.

I would second this recommendation (developed country bond fund). Probably the simplest and most effective (on average) way to get some bonds that do what you want them to do.

My feeling has been to not bother with:
- emerging markets bonds -- high fees, volatile, maybe a good speculative asset but not what I want bonds to do.
- domestic (Japanese) bonds -- I *do* hold some, but I feel like they're not necessary if you're holding a decent amount of cash (yen) anyway.
- individual bonds -- adds unnecessary complexity and inflexibility to the portfolio for my needs.
- currency hedged funds -- I may add some as I approach my retirement date. My feeling now is that I'd rather ride the currency fluctuations than try to flatten them. I have international bonds for when the yen is low and cash for when the yen is high.

[TokyoBoglehead]

Any recommendations on which bonds funds to buy through Rakuten/SBI ?

I just got the eMaxis Slim developed country bond fund.

I would second this recommendation (developed country bond fund). Probably the simplest and most effective (on average) way to get some bonds that do what you want them to do.

My feeling has been to not bother with:
- emerging markets bonds -- high fees, volatile, maybe a good speculative asset but not what I want bonds to do.
- domestic (Japanese) bonds -- I *do* hold some, but I feel like they're not necessary if you're holding a decent amount of cash (yen) anyway.
- individual bonds -- adds unnecessary complexity and inflexibility to the portfolio for my needs.
- currency hedged funds -- I may add some as I approach my retirement date. My feeling now is that I'd rather ride the currency fluctuations than try to flatten them. I have international bonds for when the yen is low and cash for when the yen is high.

I would generally agree. But there may be a case for individual American treasury bonds and strips with current/rising rates.

1. Here are your best Developed Country Bond Fund Options - https://shintaro-money.com/dm-bond-funds/
2. There are also very low fee American Treasury ETFs
3. American Treasury Notes and strips direct from your broker.

I think 1, 2 and 3 are all valid when paired with decent YEN holdings.

Do not buy JGBs unless A. You have a lot of YEN in holding, and B. Your bank is offering a campaign cash incentive.