As a whole, Tactical Asset Allocation (TAA) did not manage losses during the 2022 bear market as well as it has during previous downturns. Individual strategies varied and some did well, but a primary function of TAA is loss management, and any failure to do so is worth analyzing further. In this post, we’re going […]
TAA Performance
The 1-2 Punch of Major Losses in Both Stocks and Government Bonds
This is a follow up to our previous post. Same subject, additional data. Both stocks and government bond funds have suffered major losses this year. Stocks and gov bonds form the core of most portfolios. Gov bonds tend to counterbalance risk assets, helping to smooth returns during periods of market stress. But so far this […]
Government Bonds Have Failed to Deliver When Needed
Most government bond funds have suffered major losses this year. What is worse is that those major losses have come when they’re needed most, when stocks and other risk assets are also falling. During times of market stress, gov bonds tend to act as a counterbalance to risk assets, but so far this year they’ve […]
Where Tactical Asset Allocation Stands Now (Feb 28, 2022)
It always feels a little offensive talking dollars and cents at times like this (*), but we hope that by helping investors to have a concrete strategy, we can at least take this one stress off the table. We track 60+ Tactical Asset Allocation (TAA) strategies, allowing us to draw some broad conclusions about TAA […]
Tactical Asset Allocation in April: Stubbornly Defensive
Tactical Asset Allocation (TAA) dodged the worst of the bear in February and March, but trailed the big bounce in April. Entering May, TAA remains stubbornly defensive. We track 50+ TAA strategies sourced from books, papers, etc., allowing us to draw broad conclusions about TAA as a style. In the table below we show the […]
Tactical Asset Allocation: Mid-April Checkup
Tactical Asset Allocation (TAA) weathered the storm in February and March, significantly paring down losses vs conventional buy & hold. So far it has trailed the bounce in April, but these are early days. We track 50+ TAA strategies sourced from books, papers, etc., allowing us to draw some broad conclusions about TAA as a […]
Tactical Asset Allocation: Surveying the Damage in March
Tactical Asset Allocation (TAA) weathered the storm in March well, significantly paring down losses versus conventional buy & hold. We track 50+ TAA strategies sourced from books, papers, etc., allowing us to draw some broad conclusions about TAA as a style. In the table below we show the March and YTD returns of these 50+ […]
This Crisis Has Not Been Kind to Tactical ETFs
DIY tactical asset allocation (i.e. the types of public strategies that we cover on this site) has been strong through this crisis. Tactical ETFs on the other hand have struggled badly. We track 50+ DIY TAA strategies, allowing us to draw some broad conclusions about TAA as a style. In the graph below we show […]
Where Tactical Asset Allocation Stands Now (Monday 03/23)
Tactical Asset Allocation (TAA) as a whole continues to weather the fallout well, significantly paring down losses versus a conventional buy & hold portfolio. Individual strategies vary widely. We track 50+ published TAA strategies, allowing us to draw some broad conclusions about TAA as a style. In the table below we show the MTD/YTD returns […]
Where Tactical Asset Allocation Stands Now (Thursday 03/12) – Updated
Edit 03/18: This situation is getting sufficiently scary, in a way that transcends investing, that we’re going to slow down these periodic updates. Based on how TAA entered the month it should be pretty easy to extrapolate where returns stand now. Will post our next update at the end of this week. Stay safe out […]