Here is a link for some bond basics.
http://www.investinginbonds.com/
Lots of links within.
As always, Lynn, if you have had a decrease in your share price/value of your stock holdings over the past 30 month bear market, you have not as yet lost money (if you have not sold). You have had a decline in value. When sold in a depressed market, then you realize the the loss. Until then, it is a 'paper loss'. When the market, and presumably your stock holdings recover, you have again regained your 'loss', possibly having a 'paper gain'. Stock holdings (especially mutual fund stock holdings) are typically held for long periods by investors, bought and sold more quickly by stock traders. I presume you are an investor.
Existing bond issues and bond funds have appreciated in market value due to the artficial and dramatic lowering of interest rates by the Fed. Bond values rise and fall inverse to interest rates. You are looking at and hearing of the historical result of the lowering interest rate of the past two years. If interest rates remain relatively flat for a time (as expected), bond values will remain level as well. When interest rates are raised as the economy crawls out and recovers, bonds and bond funds will experience depressed market values. People so often are momentum investors, chasing rates of return on investments that have gone up, leaving those that have gone down, only to be burned when the reverse occurs through the normal ebb and flow of changing markets conditions.
Several well tried investing methods, for long term investing, are buy and hold, dollar cost averaging and asset allocation. Those three techniques work well in concert with each other. As always, it is difficult, if not impossible to properly advise one on their investment strategies without a proper analysis.
Not to be taken as investment advise
