Just as volatility and high prices might make some investors leery of stocks now (see “Fluctuating Stock Market Heralds Covered Calls”), the threat of rising interest rates may worry fixed-income investors. Rising rates tend to depress bond prices. Again, a time-tested strategy might be useful in the current environment. You could put together a bond ladder to hold the fixed income portion of your asset allocation. A ladder might consist of many individual issues with staggered maturities. As the nearest “rung” on your ladder is…

Up one month, down the next. The stock market this year has offered lots of excitement. As of this writing, broad market indexes have provided little sustenance for bulls or bears, with results not far from early 2018. One strategy that may be appealing in a relatively flat stock market is to use covered calls. Even if the actual stock you own goes nowhere, trading in options may deliver meaningful investment income. The downside of this approach is that any gains in a strong upturn…