Turning 50, want to retire in 5-10, and ready to begin investing in bonds—but which funds?
I have an all-stock, all-index portfolio at Vanguard, which has done very well for me these past 10 years. I have a very high tolerance for risk. Even now, at nearly 50 years old, I'm not scared of weathering one or two more recessions (I'm married, no kids, and my wife out-earns me and intends to work much later in life). But all the news this week about 30-year treasuries got me thinking that it's time to begin shifting some of my portfolio to bonds. So, a few questions:
—Should I just do VBTLX? Or would it make sense to also invest in bonds that do particularly well when stocks fall? Like VGIT, perhaps? Note: I am the invest-it-and-forget-it type. I tend not to mess around in Vanguard, beyond the occasional maintenance rebalancing.
—I don't think I'll ever want more than 30% of my portfolio to be bonds. So perhaps I could shift 3% of my portfolio to bonds every year, bringing me to 70/30 after 10 years?
—If I am not scared of major downturns in the market, and feel I have enough money in my portfolio to weather those years, am I maybe overvaluing the "need" to be in bonds at all?
Any advice is appreciated, thanks!