Should it persist through the current bout of volatility, the stock market rally will be entering its seventh year, making it one of the longest ever; at some point a bear will stop the party. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve is signaling the end to its program of holding down interest rates and thus encouraging risk taking. And there’s zero chance that Congress will add further fiscal stimulus. In short, the post-crisis investing era—when market performance was largely driven by Washington policy and Fed ¬intervention—is over. “As the global risks have receded,” says Jeffrey Kleintop, chief global investment strategist at Charles Schwab, “the focus is going back to earnings and other fundamentals.” The stage is set for a reversion to “normal,” but as you’ll see, it’s a normal that lacks support for high future returns. For you, that means a balancing act. If you don’t want to take on more risk, you’ll have to accept the probability of lower returns. Following these three guidelines will help you maintain the right risk/reward balance and choose the right investments for the “new” normal. 1) Keep U.S. Stocks As Your Core Holding… Stocks are expensive. The average stock in the S&P 500 is trading at a price of 16 times this year’s estimated earnings, about 30% higher than the long-run average. A more conservative valuation gauge developed by Yale finance professor Robert Shiller that compares prices with longer-term earnings shows that stocks are trading at more than 50% above their average. “Given current high valuations, the returns for stocks are likely to be lower over the next 10 years,” says Vanguard senior economist Roger Aliaga-Díaz. He expects annual gains to average between 5% and 8%, compared with the historical average of 10%. Shiller’s numbers suggest even lower returns over the next decade. That doesn’t mean you should give up on U.S. stocks. They remain your best shot at staying ahead of inflation, especially today, when what you can expect from a bond portfolio is, well, not much. “Stock returns may be lower,” says Aliaga-Díaz, “but bond returns will be much less, so
ReplyDeleteShould it persist through the current bout of volatility, the stock market rally will be entering its seventh year, making it one of the longest ever; at some point a bear will stop the party. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve is signaling the end to its program of holding down interest rates and thus encouraging risk taking. And there’s zero chance that Congress will add further fiscal stimulus. In short, the post-crisis investing era—when market performance was largely driven by Washington policy and Fed ¬intervention—is over. “As the global risks have receded,” says Jeffrey Kleintop, chief global investment strategist at Charles Schwab, “the focus is going back to earnings and other fundamentals.”
The stage is set for a reversion to “normal,” but as you’ll see, it’s a normal that lacks support for high future returns. For you, that means a balancing act. If you don’t want to take on more risk, you’ll have to accept the probability of lower returns. Following these three guidelines will help you maintain the right risk/reward balance and choose the right investments for the “new” normal.
1) Keep U.S. Stocks As Your Core Holding…
Stocks are expensive. The average stock in the S&P 500 is trading at a price of 16 times this year’s estimated earnings, about 30% higher than the long-run average. A more conservative valuation gauge developed by Yale finance professor Robert Shiller that compares prices with longer-term earnings shows that stocks are trading at more than 50% above their average.
“Given current high valuations, the returns for stocks are likely to be lower over the next 10 years,” says Vanguard senior economist Roger Aliaga-Díaz. He expects annual gains to average between 5% and 8%, compared with the historical average of 10%. Shiller’s numbers suggest even lower returns over the next decade.
That doesn’t mean you should give up on U.S. stocks. They remain your best shot at staying ahead of inflation, especially today, when what you can expect from a bond portfolio is, well, not much. “Stock returns may be lower,” says Aliaga-Díaz, “but bond returns will be much less, so
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