The Federal Reserve's pause on rate cuts means investors can still grab attractive yields on short-duration assets. The central bank opted to keep the federal funds rate between 3.5% to 3.75% on Wednesday and telegraphed one rate cut this year. The market, concerned about inflation amid surging oil prices and higher-than-expected wholesale costs , isn't expecting policy to ease until late in the year, according to the CME FedWatch tool . That is fueling the appetite for short-term assets, said Winnie Sun, co-founder of Sun Group Wealth Partners and a member of the CNBC Financial Advisor Council . "There could be a rate cut, let's say within a year, but at least right now, we do feel like the yields on short-term Treasurys and high-quality bonds, and even some premium bond funds … remain at these levels of yield that we really haven't seen, that have been consistent, over many, many years," she said. Bond ETFs In fact, ultra-short bond exchange-traded funds have seen $85 billion in inflows over the past 12 months, said Bryan Armour, director of ETF and passive strategies research for North America at Morningstar. The group is the top category for new investments among fixed-income ETFs, he noted. "It doesn't seem to be a bad strategy to park yourself in short-term bonds, clip coupons for a few months and see how things shake out," he said. Investors can look at funds that hold corporate bonds, Treasurys or a mix of both that also includes securitized products, he noted. "Start with what credit risk you are willing to take," Armour said. "You can get a higher yield by taking more credit risk." His top recommendations among passive ETFs are the Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF (VCSH) and the Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF (BSV). The former has a 30-day SEC yield of 4.23% and the latter offers a 3.76% 30-day SEC yield. Both have a 0.03% expense ratio. When it comes to active ETFs, Armour prefers the JPMorgan Ultra-Short Income ETF (JPST), which has a 3.75% 30-day SEC yield and 0.18% expense ratio. The active ETF has outperformed the Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF over the longer term, with JPST seeing a 5-year annual trailing return of 3.5% versus BSV's 1.7%, according to Morningstar. The two are more closely aligned when it comes to year-to-date returns. Bank loans Bank loans , which retail investors can access through ETFs and mutual funds, have also become popular in recent years thanks to their high yields and an increase in ETF issuance. Also called senior loans or syndicated loans, bank loans are structured and syndicated to large groups of lenders, such as mutual funds and institutional investors. They typically have floating interest rates tied to the secured overnight financing rate (SOFR). Morningstar's top rated bank-loan ETF is the T. Rowe Price Floating Rate ETF (TFLR). The fund has a 6.51% 30-day SEC yield and 0.61% expense ratio. The largest, and first on the market, is the Invesco Senior Loan ETF (BKLN), which today has a 30-day SEC yield of 6.68% and a 0.67% expense ratio. BKLN YTD mountain Invesco senior Loan ETF year to date Jason Bloom, head of fixed income ETF strategy at Invesco, believes valuations and yields remain attractive. "We think there's room for upside if the economy continues to strengthen and the market begins to price out Fed rate cuts later this year," he recently told CNBC. However, bank loans are riskier than corporate bonds or Treasurys because they are lower quality and carry lesser credit ratings. "Bank loans are a great example of a low duration/low credit quality (high yield) investment," said certified financial planner Chuck Failla, founder of Sovereign Financial Group. "That neither makes these good or bad in absolute terms," he added, "These are a very good fit for longer time horizon portfolios (ones needed in 3-5 years or more years) but are not a good idea for short horizon portfolios — ones needed in 0-3 years." Cash assets For those who want a little more liquidity, solid income is still available on cash assets like money market funds, certificates of deposit and Treasury bills. "While there may be some investments that might squeeze out a little extra yield, they come with added risks," said Barry Glassman, CFP, founder and president of Glassman Wealth Services and a member of the CNBC Financial Advisor Council. "For safe money, we prefer the vanilla investments of money market and Treasurys." Money market funds, which once had annual percentage rates that topped 5%, have since fallen below 4%. Yet that is still solid income for vehicles that once barely earned 1%, and above the rate of consumer price index inflation. The annualized seven-day yield on the Crane 100 list of the largest taxable money funds was 3.47%, as of Tuesday. Treasury bills between 1 month and 1 year all have yields short of 3.7%. Investors can lock in some higher yields in CDs . While the annual percentage yield has slipped below 4% for many CDs, there are still some that remain at or above that level. For instance, Bread Financial offers a 9-month CD at 4.15% and a 6-month at 4%. Lending Club's 8-month CD has a 4.10% APY, while Marcus by Goldman Sachs has 9-month and 12-month CDs at 4%. While the higher yield is guaranteed for certain time frames, any money withdrawn before the CD matures is subject to penalties.
