Thanks @dtconroe,
Hope both of us are alive & well in 15 years.
Worth noting that money market funds back in the 70s and up to the 2007-09 financial crisis were less regulated and, while quite safe, took on more risk than they can today. So those 15-20% rates are a bit over-stated. Apples to oranges.
Doubt I’ll ever succumb to going all to cash. Admittedly, that would have been the smart move 18-20 months ago before the bottom fell out of equities. I enjoy investing and tracking a widely diversified portfolio too much to give it up (a “fool’s errand” perhaps). But the bumps in the road are getting harder to ride out with age.

“ … in my lifetime as an investor, I haven’t seen cash yields this high ”
Gosh, I do remember earning 15-20% on money market funds during my early working years. :)
Along with that, the aisles in grocery stores (1970s) were often filled with store employees busy changing the previously marked prices to try and keep up with the ongoing increases. Without bar codes / scanners every bottle of ketchup or loaf of bread carried a marked price. One wonders if all this remarking itself contributed to the inflation rate.
No doubt. Cash at today’s 5% (+ -) looks very compelling, especially to the “over the hill” crowd.

I am also experiencing some degree of nostalgia with some of the recent posts, especially looking at the past 15 years. Around the 2000 to 2007 period, CDs were paying 5+% and I was shopping banks for the best CD rates and terms. Then the financial markets went into a crisis period, with banks closing, major business closings, and the government cutting rates, stimulating the economy, and trying to focus on financial stabilization and economic growth. I have never seen anything like the Covid years, supply chain and manufacturing disruptions, and the renewed fight against inflation in the last few years. 5+% CDs are back, we are fighting inflation again, but now I am in retirement, focused more on preservation of assets than accumulation of assets. I hope I am around for another 15 years so I can participate in investing philosophy, but the odds are that I will not be alive.

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1359057/000089418923005408/hoodriverintl497einvestorc.htm
497 1 hoodriverintl497einvestorc.htm 497 HOOD RIVER INVESTOR CLASS
Filed pursuant to Rule 497(e)
Registration Nos. 333-133691; 811-21897
Hood River International Opportunity Fund (the “Fund”)
Institutional Shares (HRIOX)
Retirement Shares (HRITX)
Investor Shares (HRIIX)
Supplement dated August 4, 2023
to the Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”),
each dated October 31, 2022, as supplemented
Effective August 11, 2023, the Investor Shares of the Fund will be offered for purchase.
The Prospectus and SAI are hereby amended to add HRIIX as the ticker symbol for the Investor Shares and to remove all statements to the effect that the Investor Shares are not currently offered.
Please retain this supplement with your Prospectus and SAI for future reference.

“ … in my lifetime as an investor, I haven’t seen cash yields this high ”
Gosh, I do remember earning 15-20% on money market funds during my early working years. :)
Along with that, the aisles in grocery stores (1970s) were often filled with store employees busy changing the previously marked prices to try and keep up with the ongoing increases. Without bar codes / scanners every bottle of ketchup or loaf of bread carried a marked price. One wonders if all this remarking itself contributed to the inflation rate.
No doubt. Cash at today’s 5% (+ -) looks very compelling, especially to the “over the hill” crowd.

@msf — I agree with you that the next 5-10 years could be very different. That’s why I’m maintaining significant holdings in bond and stock funds. However, in my lifetime as an investor, I haven’t seen cash yields this high and I doubt that it will continue for long. As soon as the Fed starts cutting rates, yields will drop. If that doesn’t happen for a while, I will keep buying CDs and Treasuries as issues mature.
My wife and I will start taking required minimum distributions before long, and it’s nice to have cash holdings we can rely on if stocks and/or bonds are down. BTW, I checked my watch lists for bond funds and very few have topped 5% over the past 15 years either— and those funds are all high yield funds that tend to drop in stock market crashes.

I don’t own or track a single bond fund that has produced an average annual return approaching 5% over the past 5 or 10 years

That time frame includes a couple very bad years for bonds during the FED rate hikes, so of course averages will be lower. If you look forward as the FED slows and completes their interest rate hikes, those statistics will likely change again for the better for income funds. Just my opinion. That change may have already happened. PIMIX has gained 5% in just the 1st half of 2023. Projection and extrapolating data is a risky business, but, what is to keep income funds from continuing that trend moving forward?
Not saying buying treasury or CD ladders now at 5% isn't a safe and prudent investment. It certainly is. Especially for retirees or those close to it. I've been doing it too. I do think, though, that when we look back a year or 2 from now, income funds may be winning the race.

This morning, Schwab brokerage MM SWVXX is paying 5.17% and SNAXX is paying 5.32%. CD rates at Schwab seem to be about in this same MM range, with anything over a year being less than the MM rates. I had a CD mature yesterday, which I have decided to park in SWVXX for now.

1-yr T-Bill was at 5.37% yesterday. Auction is on Tuesday, settles on Thursday.
https://home.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/TextView?type=daily_treasury_yield_curve&field_tdr_date_value_month=202308

I don’t own or track a single bond fund that has produced an average annual return approaching 5% over the past 5 or 10 years
Neither do I, but some posters here do track or own BGHIX / BGHAX. This fund has returned at least 5.5% annualized over the past five years.
Regardless, it's pointless to project past fixed income returns into the future. I don't know of any MMF that yielded 4% over the past several years, yet many taxable MMF now yield at least that much. Rates have risen.
Unlike CDs, you can readily sell Treasuries if you need the cash prematurely.
CDs that are purchased directly from an issuer often carry a put option. That is, you can redeem them (sell them back to the issuer) albeit with a penalty (strike price below par).
For example, you can save like a Senator via The United States Senate Federal Credit Union. It offers fixed rate share certificates (the CU equivalent of CDs) yielding more than5% for up to 3 years. Though they come with substantial loss of interest early withdrawal penalties.

For comparison: Hickam FCU, Oahu. 9-month "special" CD rate = 4.75%.

BTW, Fidelity’s bond listings showed a bunch of new Treasury offerings today. This morning, the expected yield on the one-year Treasury zeros was 5.05% By this afternoon, the expected yield had risen to 5.35%. I’m going to jump on this. Unlike CDs, you can readily sell Treasuries if you need the cash prematurely.

@Tarwheel. +1. Agree totally. 5% is a winner for this retired guy.

You can lock in non-callable CDs with rates exceeding 5% up to two years and 4.5% up to five years. I don’t own or track a single bond fund that has produced an average annual return approaching 5% over the past 5 or 10 years. What’s not to like about CDs yielding close to 5% or more? By waiting to see if rates go higher, you could be passing up an opportunity of the decade. If rates go higher, so what? Create a ladder and take advantage of the increase.
We’ve all seen over the past year that bond funds can be very, very risky and produce abysmal returns over long periods of time. Their returns do not necessarily provide ballast during periods when stocks drop. They can let you down when you need them the most.

My house is about 50 years old, and I am having to spend more and more each year on ACs, Hot Water heaters, plumbing, and a number of "surprises" outside of my house. I am starting to question whether we need to "sell the house" and buy smaller and newer house that requires less maintenance. My wife wants to stay in the house, and so I do have to manage our investments to keep up with the demands of owning an old home--liquidity has to be taken into account with my taxable account for these surprises. </blockquote
DT: I know what you mean about older homes. We have been in ours about 40 years. We have found out that after that long, things just wear out or need to be updated. We have talked about downsizing, but we do like it out here so we have decided to stay as long as we can.

How long will it last, and where will it peak? Those are the questions. The consensus seems to be that it will only last for about a year, not more than 2, and that it will peak around 6%, maybe a little less and not more than 6.25%. That's a very strong consensus, and it seems that many take it as a forgone conclusion. That's not to say that it's wrong.
If I really believed in it strongly, I would try to go out as long as I could within the next year at anything over 5.5% -- but really I'm not so sure. I'm afraid inflation might get out of control. If we go out one year now, I think rates will still be this good or better in a year.
btw, there is no reason to buy CDs with an early withdraw penalty. Buy a brokered CD. My broker tells me that he has been able to sell CDs for clients for very minimal losses or even with small gains. (The seller keeps all accrued interest).

I am not seeing that very optimistic CD scenario for longer term CDs, but CD investing involves projections for rates, and I did choose a short term laddering scenario in 2022, with many CDs maturing in 2023 and early 2024. The first 6 months of 2024 will be a major test for me, to make CD investing decisions, possibly choosing longer term CDs if the rates are higher than today.

AAII Sentiment Survey, 8/2/23
Bullish remained the top sentiment (49.0%; high) & bearish remained the bottom sentiment (21.3%; low); neutral remained the middle sentiment (29.7%; below average); Bull-Bear Spread was +27.7% (high). Investor concerns: Inflation (still high); economy; the Fed; dollar; crypto regulations; market volatility (VIX, VXN, MOVE); Russia-Ukraine war (75+ weeks, 2/24/22-now); geopolitical. For the Survey week (Th-Wed), stocks were down, bonds down, oil up, gold up, dollar up. Fitch downgraded the US debt to AA+, but it retained AAA for 3 US financials - NY Life, Northwestern Mutual, TIAA. #AAII #Sentiment #Markets
LINK

How long will it last, and where will it peak? Those are the questions. The consensus seems to be that it will only last for about a year, not more than 2, and that it will peak around 6%, maybe a little less and not more than 6.25%. That's a very strong consensus, and it seems that many take it as a forgone conclusion. That's not to say that it's wrong.
If I really believed in it strongly, I would try to go out as long as I could within the next year at anything over 5.5% -- but really I'm not so sure. I'm afraid inflation might get out of control. If we go out one year now, I think rates will still be this good or better in a year.
btw, there is no reason to buy CDs with an early withdraw penalty. Buy a brokered CD. My broker tells me that he has been able to sell CDs for clients for very minimal losses or even with small gains. (The seller keeps all accrued interest).

@hondo. Same boat here. My wife has no interest in this stuff and I think more and more about a vastly simplified portfolio going forward. As my CD’s and treasuries mature it might be time to build a position in Wellesley or some such thing. At least in the IRA accounts. That and sell the boat

My house is about 50 years old, and I am having to spend more and more each year on ACs, Hot Water heaters, plumbing, and a number of "surprises" outside of my house. I am starting to question whether we need to "sell the house" and buy smaller and newer house that requires less maintenance. My wife wants to stay in the house, and so I do have to manage our investments to keep up with the demands of owning an old home--liquidity has to be taken into account with my taxable account for these surprises.

I’ve been loading up on CDs and treasuries, with ladders extending out five years in my IRAs and three years in taxable savings. I don’t care if interest rates rise further as I’m happy to be earning better than 5% on all these cash investments. I’ve got plenty of CDs, money markets and Treasuries on the short end, in case I need cash. If rates rise further, I’ll simply buy more CDs or Treasuries as individual issues mature. I’m holding more cash than ever in my accounts because we haven’t had interest rates this high in many, many years and I don’t know how long it will last.