Expect to work a little harder for those fixed income returns in the new year. As a result, it may be time to start unwinding those big cash positions and adopt a longer-term mentality for fixed income investments. A runup in bond yields is accompanied by a decline in prices, and the two move inversely to one another. The sector "remains well positioned to maintain its high credit quality, driven by solid state credit quality and strong state financial support, despite soft enrollment trends," analyst Kathleen McNamara wrote last week. Consider dollar cost averaging into those longer-dated positions, incrementally building up exposure to intermediate duration bonds.

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Persons: Jerome Powell, it's, Kathy Jones, Shannon Saccocia, Jones, Nicholos Venditti, Kathleen McNamara, Schwab's Jones, Barry McAlinden, Michael Bloom Organizations: Schwab Center, Financial Research, Bond, SEC, Muni Bond ETF, Allspring Global Investments, UBS