From Kim Iskyan, Editor, TrueWealth Asia:

Every investment has risk. And don’t let the U.S. government tell you otherwise…

Most investors come across the term “risk-free” early in their investment education. It refers to an asset you can invest in, not worry about, and be assured a certain return without losing any money. The standard for risk-free assets is a U.S. Treasury bill, or T-bill.

T-bills are considered the safest investments in the world. They are short-term loans to the U.S. government that the government pays back with interest. The only way to lose any money is if the U.S. government runs out of money. Since the government can print more money or raise taxes when they need more cash, the chances of the U.S. government defaulting on its loans is almost nil.

In fact, three-month T-bills are considered so safe that they are used as a starting point to…