Asset Class Returns, Year-to-Date
Since September was such a volatile month for stocks and bonds, I decided to update the Asset Class Return spreadsheet to see how everything is faring. Here's a blurry picture of it:
Every category of stock got bludgeoned in October, with stocks from developed economies in the Asia/Pacific region taking the least of the beating. By our proxies, only gold and short-term bonds picked up any gain, the latter only through a fluke in posting of interest payments.
Stock-long portfolio managers are happy that most of them billed on Sept. 30 returns. They are also hoping for the traditional fourth quarter rally that has saved so many a bacon strip.