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Most students of modern finance are familiar with the efficient frontier chart, which shows the range of expected returns and risks for optimized portfolios. Because these calculations are performed when the portfolios are constructed, before they are invested, the values on the chart are estimates, almost sure to differ from the observed risks and returns.   An Important Diff ...

Key Takeaways  While the banking crisis was severe, it has directly slowed down the economy, with the impact of tightening credit conditions being equivalent to rate hikes.  Despite the heightened volatility and reversals during the quarter, markets managed the crisis well, with long-duration bonds, large-cap growth stocks and gold leading the markets. All New Frontier ETF ...

In 2022, numerous unprecedented events led to a decline in asset prices across all markets, resulting in an historic decline in global investment wealth. This scenario is unlikely to reoccur for four primary reasons, which we discuss below. Key Takeaways: 2022 was an historically bad year: the worst in centuries for bonds, and the first time in history when both stocks and ...

Much academic and industry effort has been placed into how to meaningfully divide the equity markets in the US and other countries into parts which behave distinctly, cross-sectionally and over time. Fama and French (1998) were pioneers into dividing US equity markets by ranking on fundamental characteristics, finding important differences in high versus low-ranked stocks along ...

Retirement is fraught with uncertainty. Individuals approaching retirement face a variety of questions regarding their families, their health, and long-term market uncertainty. Financial planners must answer questions from clients seeking guidance and hoping to establish a secure financial cushion for their later years. One common question is, "how much do I need saved at retir ...

Key Takeaways  Beyond a historic decline in global investment wealth, what’s unusual for 2022 is that for the first time in history, both US large-cap stocks and long-term bonds had significant losses of more than 15% in the same calendar year.  Despite a challenging year, all New Frontier ETF portfolios delivered positive returns in Q4, outperforming the broad global equit ...

Key Takeaways Markets rose at the start of the quarter before dramatically reversing and ending down as a complex mixture of high inflation, aggressive central bank actions, and escalating geopolitical tensions affected performance. For the first time in modern history, both bonds and stocks experienced concurrent bear markets, leading to historical losses of total global w ...

Don’t Panic In the face of pessimism about the possibility of a recession and the Fed’s efforts to curb inflation at any cost, many investors may be worried. An analysis of the historical data from past recessions suggests that waiting for favorable market conditions could leave an investor at a disadvantage, compared to those who remain in, or enter, the market, irrespective ...

Bond investing has been challenging in 2022 due to historic macroeconomic events and significant interest rate hikes by the US Fed. The velocity of the yield change YTD has been stark, as illustrated below. For example, after an increase of nearly 200 bps through mid-June - with 10-year Treasury yields reaching 3.49% on June 14th - long-term yields declined by 90 bps in just th ...

Many investors, especially those in retirement, have a rational preference for investments that provide dividends and income at higher rates than a market portfolio of stocks or both stocks and bonds. All else being equal, many retirees prefer to live off the income generated by their portfolio rather than worrying about the timing and pricing of stock or bond sales. Recurring ...