The 7 Best Bond Funds for Retirement Savers in 2019

Bond funds are for your "safe" money. They give your portfolio ballast - and they're a ready source of cash when you spot opportunities in the stock market.

Just keep the very long-term in mind and don't get greedy with bonds in 2019. Almost every flavor of bond and bond fund lost at least a little money last year, and the same could happen this year.

For instance: Even the best long-term and even intermediate-term bonds and bond funds will likely do well only if there's a dramatic slowdown in the economy, which would push down bond yields and boost their prices. (Bond yields and prices move opposite one another). Lower-credit-quality bonds, meanwhile, will only earn big profits if the economy, which seems likely to grow at a slower pace this year, instead continues to grow as rapidly