Clients who lived through the rate cuts of 2024 and 2025 still assume rates are headed lower. They’re not. The Fed raised rates in September for the first time since 2023, held in October, and is now almost certain to raise again on Dec. 9. Yesterday’s inflation report sealed it: consumer prices rose 0.4% in October against expectations of 0.3%, and core prices rose 0.3%. Fed Governor Christopher Waller said he supports a quarter-point hike and wants a half-point move considered. Two-year Treasury yields jumped 17 basis points in a day, and the 10-year now sits near 5%.
That changes the conversation for three kinds of clients. Those waiting for rates to fall before buying bonds are waiting for something that isn’t coming soon. Those sitting in cash are earning more, but only if their cash actually moves with rates. And retirees on fixed income are watching inflation run hot, with forecasters not expecting it to return to the Fed’s 2% target until at least 2028.
Three approaches are worth comparing: keeping near-term money in floating-rate Treasuries whose yields rise with the Fed, adding inflation protection with TIPS, and locking in today’s higher intermediate-term yields for clients who need steady income.
Rather than walk through generic pros and cons here, we built a prompt that does the work for you. Describe your client in one sentence, and it returns a one-page meeting brief: what happened and why it matters for that client, the approach that fits best, the specific ETFs to use, what to watch out for and language you can use in the meeting.
Copy the prompt below, describe your client in one sentence, and you’ll have the same brief for your next meeting.
Copy this prompt
My client: [Describe them in a sentence, e.g., "71, retired, lives on Social Security and bond income, $600K in a long-term bond fund and $150K in a bank savings account."]
Work from whatever I've given you. Where details are missing, make reasonable assumptions and keep going. Don't stop to ask me questions.
Context (as of Nov 11, 2026):
- The Fed raised rates in September 2026 for the first time since 2023, to a target range of 3.75%-4.00%, and held in October. Its next decision is Dec. 9.
- On Nov. 10, October CPI rose 0.4% (0.3% expected) and core CPI rose 0.3% (0.2% expected). Markets now see a December hike as close to certain, with some chance of a half-point move. Fed Governor Waller supports a quarter-point hike and wants a half-point move considered.
- All 101 economists in a Reuters poll expect a December hike to 4.00%-4.25%. Forecasters don't expect the Fed's preferred inflation gauge to return to 2% until at least 2028.
- Two-year Treasury yields jumped 17 basis points to about 4.74% on Nov. 10. The 10-year Treasury yield is near 5%.
- Many clients still assume rates are headed lower after the 2024-2025 cuts. Clients waiting for rates to fall before buying bonds, holding long-duration bonds, sitting in low-yielding bank savings, or living on fixed income need a different plan.
Approaches and funds to choose from (verify current yields before acting; they moved sharply on Nov. 10):
1. Let near-term money float with rates: floating-rate Treasuries and T-bills (for cash, emergency funds and money needed within 1-2 years)
- USFR (WisdomTree Floating Rate Treasury Fund): yield resets weekly with 13-week T-bill rates, minimal interest-rate risk
- TFLO (iShares Treasury Floating Rate Bond ETF): yield resets weekly with 13-week T-bill rates, minimal interest-rate risk
2. Add inflation protection: TIPS (for clients whose spending is exposed to rising prices, especially retirees)
- VTIP (Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities ETF): short duration, little interest-rate risk
- SCHP (Schwab U.S. TIPS ETF): broad TIPS exposure, more interest-rate risk than short-term TIPS
3. Lock in today's higher yields with moderate rate risk: intermediate-term Treasuries (for clients who need steady income and can hold through price swings)
- VGIT (Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury ETF): intermediate duration
- SCHR (Schwab Intermediate-Term U.S. Treasury ETF): intermediate duration
Write a one-page meeting brief that makes complete sense on its own to someone who hasn't seen this prompt. Never refer to approaches by number or mention "the list," "the context" or "the prompt." Use exactly this format, in under 300 words total:
**What happened:** Two sentences on the rate and inflation news and why it matters for this client.
**Best fit:** Describe the recommended approach (or combination) in plain words and explain why it fits this client in two sentences.
**The move:** A short table of the ETFs to use, with columns for ETF (ticker plus full fund name), role in the portfolio and one key data point.
**Watch out for:** No more than three one-line points specific to this client (taxes, timing or risks, including the risk of overreacting).
**What to say:** Two or three sentences I can say to the client in plain language.
End with one line listing any assumptions you made about the client, then a final line: "Fund data as of Nov 11, 2026; verify before acting."
Write in plain language an advisor can scan in 30 seconds. No jargon without a short explanation, no generic investing advice, no interest-rate predictions beyond what's stated above, no political commentary and no favoring either party.
