In a recent TD AMERITRADE client survey,1 37 percent of individual investors indicated that in light of the recent volatility in the equity markets, they were more likely to diversify their portfolio to include fixed income today than they were six months ago. More than half of respondents claimed to have reconsidered their asset allocation in the last eight weeks. Of those who have purchased fixed income products, half have purchased CDs, 22 percent have purchased municipal bonds, 19 percent have purchased corporate bonds and 18 percent have purchased Treasuries.

"Recently we've seen investors turn to various fixed income investments for stability, yield and liquidity," said Bill Vulpis, managing director, Investment Product Management, TD AMERITRADE. "Many are overwhelmed by the task of choosing bonds and CDs across various maturities. But just as asset allocation is important for an investor's entire portfolio, the diversification of products and maturities also helps manage volatility during uncertain times."

Bond Wizard can help investors narrow the search for bonds and other fixed-income investments. Investors follow a simple step-by-step process to find the bonds and CDs that meet their specified criteria.2

Bond Wizard can also help investors build a bond ladder, which is an investment strategy of investing in an assortment of bonds and CDs that mature at regular intervals. Ladders are designed to decrease the overall amount of risk and help provide protection against adverse interest rate changes. Depending on the investments, interest payments can be set in monthly, quarterly or semi-annual intervals to potentially provide investors with a source of income. Investors can select from one of TD AMERITRADE's pre-packaged Bond Ladders or build one of their own based on their needs and future goals.