3 must-read books for better understanding Risk Parity Investing and the All Seasons Portfolio Strategy

  • Recommendations for the 3 best books to start with for better understanding risk parity investing
    • The Permanent Portfolio by Craig Rowland and J.M. Lawson
    • Balanced Asset Allocation by Alex Shahidi
    • Risk Parity Fundamentals by Edward Qian
  • Reviews of each book below and suggested reading order
  • Which to pick if you are only going to read one

The isolation and restrictions of movement during the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdowns and curfews have been challenging to say the least. How can you spend your time, in an effort trying to stay sane, when you no longer can travel, barely go to the office, and perhaps not even physically meet friends and family.

Now in March, it becomes one full year of the exceptional circumstances and measures to limit spreading of the virus. It has been a difficult year for all, but even worse for some directly affected by the worst thinkable consequences of the pandemic.

Risk parity investing is an established discipline among institutional investors and family offices. Of these, the most famous are Bridgewater Associates' All Weather fund was a pioneer of the field, and is only accessible to pension funds and high net worth individuals.

But the benefits of risk parity investing reach also retail investors - people who do not get access to Bridgewater's products - as most investors are easily swayed by the most recent developments on the stock markets not to be sufficiently protected against the effects of what changes in expectations of economic growth and inflation can do to a portfolio.

Reading is a pastime of successful investors, not only in quarantine, and if you are keen on setting up your own risk parity portfolio (it is very easy to do with widely available ETFs), you should begin by seeking information on this investment discipline in the form of literature.

To make the getting started phase a bit easier for you, in this article, I highlight three great books about setting up a balanced portfolio. They all describe asset classes included (mainly stocks, bonds, gold, and commodities), and, more importantly, the reason behind why each asset class is needed in a portfolio to protect against the changing seasons of the economy.

Continue Reading3 must-read books for better understanding Risk Parity Investing and the All Seasons Portfolio Strategy

Insight – How to Improve Portfolio Performance and Risk-Adjusted Return with VIX ETFs

This post was originally published on the Patreon page on November 5th, 2020. https://www.patreon.com/posts/43569940  If you like the content I publish on this blog, I appreciate your support to cover hosting costs etc. Even small contributions are greatly appreciated.

Contents:

  • How all common asset classes had weak performance at the same time in March 2020 due to the Coronavirus crisis.
  • That the only asset class actually performing well in that time was VIX ETFs
  • What the VIX is and how you can use it as an insurance policy in your portfolio to protect against volatility, uncertainty and black swans,
  • How including only 3% of a VIX ETF in a risk balanced portfolio increased return, lowered volatility and increased the Sharpe ratio of an example All Seasons Portfolio. This is shown with an extensive case study through first half of 2020 and the 30 month period leading up to 30 June 2020.
  • All raw data on which the analysis, graphs and tables in this article is based on, are exclusively found in the Patreon version of this post. Support the blog to get access.

All assets under-performed in late March.

Do you still remember how different asset classes performed amidst the most urgent phases of the coronavirus crisis? Or have you intentionally suppressed those bad memories and only chosen to remember the recovery in assets such as stocks?

As a reminder, there was period from about March 10th to March 20th when every major asset class declined in valuer, regardless if they were biased to perform well in increasing or decreasing economic growth environments. Stocks and commodities had already fallen by then, but by March 10th, also gold, treasury bonds and inflation-linked bonds fell as well. Nothing managed to offset the declines in growth assets, and any balanced portfolio suffered.

While a risk parity strategy, such as the All Seasons Portfolio strategy, performed much better than the stock market or a 60/40 portfolio, the Covid-19 crisis caused a dent also in the All Seasons Portfolio. The All Seasons Portfolio even turned into negative territory on a YTD basis, even though it recovered rather quickly from that temporary dip.

[3,500 more words]

Continue ReadingInsight – How to Improve Portfolio Performance and Risk-Adjusted Return with VIX ETFs

Portfolio Update – April 2019 – Investing in America

Hello, fellow financial independence seeker!

It is now my self imposed duty to go through my portfolio development for the month of April 2019. I am one ETF closer to have at least some exposure to each asset class that I intend shall be part of my portfolio - only Mid Term Government bonds missing yet. I will present my monthly update here below shortly, but I will also take a moment to elaborate of my choice of geographical exposure of my portfolio.

As you may notice in the list of ETFs further below, I have a great exposure towards American stocks and bonds. This is not because I have adopted the tips and hints you can find on the internet or in books, as most are written by American authors with a home bias, but there are reasons why I, an European investor, have chosen to fill my portfolio with American assets now early on.

Continue ReadingPortfolio Update – April 2019 – Investing in America