Subject: Re: Portfolio for a 90 year old
Buy a BAC or WFC preferred. Paying 6% yield. Done and done.

A fine choice for the bond(ish) subset of your port. But I see this as part of the "life insurance" subset of the port. Insurance companies are really good at actuarial tables so getting an immediate annuity at age 90 is a good use of your money. They are pretty sure you won't live to 100 and you really don't want to be 100 and broke.

Nobody says life insurance is a great way to build wealth. The goal here is to arrive at 90, say "What have I done?!" and figure out how to keep from going broke if life continues.

If your goal is to leave money for your kids then safe withdrawal rates are what you should focus on. If you don't have kids the goal is to spend that last dollar on the funeral. The original question was whether you can do better than a deferred annuity and TIPS are one of the choices. They have the distinct advantage that if you don't get to 90 the money goes to your favorite charity rather than the insurance company.

Rgds,
HH/Sean