Beware: Higher Yielding Investments Can Have Higher Risks

Interest rates on bank CDs and money market funds have been at historic lows over the last several years. Sure, everyone wants to make more income from their assets. But always remember there is no free lunch. No matter what a salesman might tell you, with bigger returns come bigger risks. In an effort to attract seniors’ retirement funds, Wall Street has introduced an array of increasingly complex products that promise investors higher yielding  than are available from CDs or government bonds. Unfortunately, most of these products carry the danger that an investor can lose most or all of his or her principal investment. In many instances, higher yielding investments are simply inappropriate for seniors seeking to preserve their assets and should not be recommended by stockbrokers, financial advisors or investment advisors.