In the Summer 2015 edition of MoneySense magazine, the article Value Hunter (Cash cows for your portfolio) by Norm Rothery, recommends replacing High-interest Savings Accounts (HISAs) with Short-term Bond ETFs (STB ETFs).
[This article seems to exist only in print; please edit this if you find the online version.]
However, this article from 2012 supports the opposite allocation:
[David Sherlock, a portfolio manager and director of product development for Calgary-based McLean & Partners Wealth Management] recommends putting about 10% of your savings into a corporate bond fund to get that extra yield and dump the rest into a high-interest savings account.
“What that does is bring the net return of the net yield up and it’s still relatively safe,” he says.
I ask this question for a commoner who struggles with choosing where to store long-term personal savings. He seeks a higher rate of return than HISAs, but worries about higher risk from STB ETFs.
So how do they compare? What are their relative risks and returns?
savings
. As such you don't want instruments that can decline in value as ETFs can and will.