As far as financial markets are concerned, investors can be guaranteed about three important things: markets will increases, fall or will remain as it is. Essentially, everything is left for an option, though several investors can employ large number of strategies to make an attempt for navigating the rise and fall in the market. As far as investment in bond markets or income is concerned, portfolios can easily sustain a bit of harm when the rates of interest keep on increasing. Even they can start losing if there are expectations that the rate of interest will rise in future.

Primary Danger Associated with Bond Investing
For the purpose of navigating the danger associated with negative returns, the investors must be aware of the main risk factors affected the bond costs. The first important thing is the risk associated with the interest rate. Bond decrease in cost when the rates of interest increases, as the investors have the ability to invest in the recent bonds with same features that pay high coupon rates. For balancing the rate of market coupon, the recent binds should fall in cost. Secondly, bond costs can decrease due to the risk associated with credit. If a current bond receives downgrade in the rating of credit, it is not so much appealing for the investors and will need a higher rate of interest for the purpose if investment, which starts occurring with the help of lowering the cost of bond.
Credit danger can affect the danger with liquidity which is then influenced by the supply of investor and a demand. Low liquidity generally manifests through the widening of bid-asking spread or a great dissimilarity in the quoted cost amid the investor that purchases a bond from the one it sells. Finally, other dangers include call danger, which exists if the company is permitted to call in the issue and bond. This almost occurs in the period of lowering rates. Ultimately, there is a risk of reinvestment associated with it, which emerges during the period of increasing rates when the investor should reinvest a matured bond, for instance.
Provided the above dangers, below are some of the strategies related to how one can avoid negative returns. Again, costs are at a high risk of decreasing in an environment of increasing rate, but some risks also starts existing during the time of falling or over stable environment.
Handle the Positions of Individual Bond
One of the simplest ways to avoid great losses in the portfolio of bond during the time of increasing the rates of interest is to purchase discrete bonds and hold till it gets mature. With this particular method, the investor is totally assured to attain principal at a matured level and this particular method eliminates the danger of interest rate. The existing bond cost might decline when the rates increase, but an investor will attain his or her real investment at an explained maturity day of bond.
The danger associated with credit can be eliminated, mainly for powerful ratings of credit as there is a minimum risk that an underlying company becomes the insolvent and does not have the ability to pay its debts back. The danger associated with liquidity can be easily eliminated by purchasing and holding the bond till it gets matured as there is not enough time for trading. In the time span of deteriorating rates of interest, the one danger which is not easy to eliminate is the reinvestment danger as the money received at a maturity level will demand reinvestment at the rate of lower coupon. However, it is regarded as a favorable consequence in the time period of increasing rates.
The chief alternative regarding investment in the individual bonds is with the help of bond funds. In the time period of increasing rates, this money will note their positions fall in the market value. An important reason that the losses can become permanent is several fund managers purchase and sell the bonds in an active manner, signifying that they probably like to sell the positions at loss after the increases in charges, decline in the rating of credit or when less liquidity signify to trade at a low market cost. For such reasons, individual bonds obviously make sense.
Remains Short when the Rates Increases
In an environment of increasing rate of interest, where the rates are projected in the future, remaining invested in the bonds with a near date for maturity can also be significant. Fundamentally, the risk associated with an interest is less for bonds having a close mature date. Bond duration, measuring the sensitivity of bond cost to change the rate of interest, shows that costs change less for close mature dates. At a short maturity date for the funds of money market, they start adjusting immediately to a high rate and in most of the cases they do not understand any major loss. Generally, remaining at the short schedule of maturity it helps the investor avoid several negative returns related to bond and offer a selection in the yield during a span of increasing rates.
Selling of the bonds
For large numbers of depositors, there are certain alternatives for short bonds. With any type of security, moving short means exchanging the security as well as anticipating a decrease in cost after which an investor can purchase it and return the thing that has been exchanged. The condition of market for shorting a bond is not a large one or a liquid, but you will find large number of opportunities for various investors for investing in the mutual funds and funds traded by exchange.
Other Vital Considerations
Of course, there are large number of strategies and links for employing and for avoiding negative returns. It includes several techniques regarding hedging like utilizing futures, choice and swap spreads for speculating the rise or fall in rates along several parts of yielding curve or on the specific classes of bond or ratings of credit. The rates of inflation and expectations for the inflation in future are also regarded as significant considerations when the investments are done in bonds. The bonds adjusted by inflation like treasury inflation securities assists the investors lessen the damage that the rise in cost can attempt on actual returns.
As discussed in a detail manner above, investment with the bond money can be complicated in a time span of increasing charges but have advantages in that an investor is outsourcing the capital to bond the professional having a perfect level of experience in certain strategies of bond in an amalgamation of environments of rate of interest.
Bottom Line
Other than the infinite grouping of various strategies which can be hired for speculating the fall and rising rates and also try to eliminate the vital dangers associated with the investment of bonds recognized above. One of the best approaches to the investors might be to grasp a differentiated combination of several bond classes across wide varieties of matured dates. With any kind of asset, speculators will make an attempt and predict the direction of market, but most of the investors will sleep in a better way during night by just purchasing bonds at the current levels of interest rate and holds them till it gets matured. Appointing a bond specialist or directly investing in the bond funds also makes senses in specific circumstances.
It is really difficult to earn money in bond funds in an increasing rate surrounding but there are always certain ways by which one can avoid major losses and at the same time can lessen the hit to the portfolio at a current bond. When the day comes to an end, high rates are good for the portfolio as it increases the income levels of portfolio but investors need to work in such a manner that the transaction can be held in a smooth manner to eventually gain benefit from the rise in yields.