U.S. Treasury bills held to maturity have a beta of zero.Why?Discuss the implications with respect to your overall investment portfolio as you approach retirement age.

What purpose does an investment with a zero beta serve in a retirement portfolio?

David, the real threat that that last week's political impasse posed was not so much a federal defaulting on T-Bills. While no investment is truly free of risk, scenarios in which a major government with a long track record of stability defaults on its obligations are unlikely and therefore have no place in financial planning. Republicans were concerned that the US Government has reached its debt ceiling, a self-imposed limit on the amount it can borrow, and without an agreement to raise the limit (borrow more money) the threat surfaced of...