Investor Education

Treasury Bonds: Buy and Hold or Trend Follow?

If one had to invest in buy and hold treasury bonds or trend-followed treasury bonds, it is likely that most investors would prefer the trend-followed bond investment. However, in a broader portfolio context, the analysis suggests that how one 'eats' their bond exposure is largely irrelevant and the portfolio's long-term outcome will be driven by equity market dynamics. Bonds systematically lower an equity-centric portfolio's returns, but they also lower the risk profile of the overall portfolio.

Trend Following Says Commodities…But Nothing Else!

The analysis above highlights that we are in a rare regime when commodities are the only long asset with a positive trend. The last time this happened we entered a long period of high inflation and poor real returns. Will this happen again? Who knows. But we do know that post-1973 we entered a world where, for several decades (at least up to around 2007), both bonds and commodities were an important component of a diversified portfolio. The recent past has arguably made investors complacent in their reliance on a stock/bond portfolio as an end-all-be-all solution. When history tells us that incorporating commodities into a portfolio probably makes sense from a diversification standpoint.

DIY Asset Allocation Weights: August 2022

No exposure to domestic equities. No exposure to international equities. No exposure to REITs. Full exposure to commodities. No exposure to intermediate-term bonds.

DIY Asset Allocation Weights: July 2022

No exposure to domestic equities. No exposure to international equities. No exposure to REITs. Full exposure to commodities. No exposure to intermediate-term bonds.

DIY Asset Allocation Weights: June 2022

No exposure to domestic equities. No exposure to international equities. Half exposure to REITs. Full exposure to commodities. No exposure to intermediate-term bonds.

DIY Asset Allocation Weights: May 2022

Big changes this past month: Half exposure to domestic equities. No exposure to international equities. Half exposure to REITs. Full exposure to commodities. No exposure to intermediate-term bonds.

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