The important point is that investors are rewarded for taking systematic risk: it is the reason stocks have the highest long -
term returns of any asset class.
History shows stocks have generated the
best returns of any asset class over the long run within North America — but they are volatile in the short run and investors who track things too closely are more likely to be frightened out of their positions prematurely.
For many of you, I think the safer and better course of action is to allocate certain assets, particularly retirement, to passively - managed products which will track the long -
term returns of the asset classes in which they are invested.
While the theoretical underpinnings of modern portfolio theory are complex, there are two main objectives: Firstly, efficient portfolios capture
the return of each asset class represented — nothing more and nothing less.
Moreover, different forecasts may choose different indices as a proxy for the same asset class, thus influencing
the return of the asset class.
In this next example you'll view
the returns of each asset class along with a stock and bond combined portfolio.
The term may be new, but the idea isn't: it's about looking for ways to capture
the returns of an asset class with a strategy other than traditional cap - weighting.
Three: Index funds offer something you'll never get in an actively managed fund: a guarantee to give
you the return of an asset class, less only relatively low expenses.
Viewing
the returns of both asset classes, corporate and municipal bonds, from the perspective of returns after taxes reverses the trend.
While the theoretical underpinnings of modern portfolio theory are complex, there are two main objectives: Firstly, efficient portfolios capture
the return of each asset class represented — nothing more and nothing less.
Index fund: a mutual fund or ETF that attempts to match
the returns of an asset class or market segment by holding all the stocks or bonds in an index
That's an impressive result for a family of funds that simply try to capture
the returns of an asset class with no attempt to beat the market.
Where it was available, I've also included their average estimate for
the returns of that asset class, followed by the actual index return for 2011.
Are based on historical performance characteristics, which include the expected future return, the expected future volatility (risk) of the return, and how
the returns of assets classes perform relative to each other.
Passive managers seek to deliver
the returns of an asset class or sector of the market.
He also discusses the case for attractive long - term
returns of asset classes, including equities.
In a number of cases, we have had to approximate
the returns of the asset classes using other indexes.
Although all disclosure statements from investment advisory firms are required to state that «past performance does not guarantee future results,» studying the long - term past can better characterize both the risks and
returns of asset classes and empower individuals to make better choices.