The 9.62% Opportunity in I Bonds
About This Episode
The best retirement-savings vehicle is one that few have heard about: I bonds. They offer a risk-free yield of 9.62%, yet the amount of I bonds issued is only a small fraction of the total volume of bond issuance by the U.S. Treasury. My guest today will explain that paradox.
This is also the 300th episode of the Gaining Perspective podcast, and no guest would be more appropriate than Zvi Bodie. He has eloquently and persuasively made the case for the financial services industry to provide products that respond to the needs of everyday investors.
About Our Guest
Zvi Bodie is an independent educator, writer, speaker, and consultant on finance and the financial system. He has published widely on pension finance and investment strategy in leading professional journals and is best known for applying modern financial theory to lifecycle saving and investing.
Bodie has popularized the idea of hedging against inflation using series I savings bonds, TIPS, and CPI- linked annuities in defined contribution pension and saving plans. He also has advocated strategies that guarantee a minimum retirement life-long income regardless of the performance of the stock market.
Show Notes
Here is a link to the I bond manifesto. Here is a link to Zvi’s personal website, and here is a link to previous interviews with Zvi. Here is a link to Zvi’s 1990 paper, Inflation Insurance.