Throughout our careers studying the financial markets, we have consistently seen how investors can fall victim to some of the most common behavioral biases and the negative effects they can have on long-term performance during volatile market conditions. To try and help navigate this challenging market environment, MAP’s Investment Team, led by Chief Investment Officer, Michael Dzialo and Portfolio Managers, Karen Culver and Pete Swan, sat down to answer some of the most common questions received over the past couple of months.
As investors look back on the worst start of the year for the broad bond market, many are trying to determine how to proceed. We make the case that even with interest rates rising off their historic lows, now is not the time to increase one’s allocation to long-duration assets. The Federal Reserve faces a unique conundrum in reducing the highest inflation since the 1980s as the economy slows and the government’s spending spree all come to the forefront. We believe this environment is creating many risks that investors will not be adequately rewarded.
This edition of MAP Views provides our thoughts on the rapidly changing investment landscape, the war in Ukraine, a potential bear market for bonds, high and rising inflation, as well as the Fed’s response to the uncertainty. It also discusses how we have positioned our portfolios in the face of unprecedented fixed-income volatility.
More than a third of high-earning American workers feel strapped for cash — a share that has risen dramatically in recent years. Thirty-six percent of U.S. employees with salaries of $100,000 or more are living paycheck to paycheck — twice as many who said they were in 2019, according to a survey conducted by Willis Towers Watson, a consulting firm.