Alec Cutler: Is it the end of the road for 60/40?

clock • 5 min read

Alec Cutler takes a look at the traditional 60/40 portfolio and says its days are numbered...

To paraphrase Dickens, 2020 was - for markets - the best of times and the worst of times. It was the best of times for passive investors in the classic portfolio of 60% global stocks and 40% global government bonds— the "60/40". As central banks around the world fired up their printing presses in March, bond yields fell, and those falling bond yields benefitted passive 60/40 investors in three big ways. First, falling yields pushed global government bonds to a strong 6% return in GBP, despite starting the year with an average yield of just 1%. Second, falling yields helped bonds to...

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