Generous Bond Yields Prove There Is an Alternative to Stocks

Return with us to ancient times, when dinosaurs ruled, at least in technology terms. It was early 2007, when Blackberries were in everybody’s mitts and the first iPhone hadn’t yet gone on sale, let alone changed the tech world. This distant era was the last in which you could earn 5% on a U.S. Treasury bill. Until now.

Five percent is a risk-free rate far above what anyone under the age of 40 likely is accustomed to. Following the 2008-09 financial crisis, T-bill yields hugged zero percentmost of the time, except for a move into the 2% range by 2018. They plunged anew when the Covid-19 pandemic erupted in 2020.