Asset Class Performance (April 2012): Another Good Month for Bonds

Friday, May 4th, 2012

The bar chart below, courtesy of Scott Barber of Reuters, shows the monthly performances of the principal asset classes.

“The “risk on/risk off” barometer moved back in the direction of “risk off” during April, as U.S. 10-year Treasury securities turned in the best investment gains (in U.S. dollar terms) during the month,” said Barber. “The 2.8% jump in the value of the Treasury securities came despite the almost universal perspective on the part of professional investors that the 30-year bull market for bonds is finally sputtering to a halt and that eventually interest rates will begin to climb. Investors displayed a clear bias in favor of assets that not only generated income but also offered them security – in other words, bonds of various kinds were the only major asset classes to end the month in the black.”

Source: Scott Barber, Reuters, May 2, 2012.

Tags: 10 Year Treasury, April, asset class, Asset Classes, Assets, Barometer, Bias, Bonds, Class Performance, Dollar Terms, interest rates, Investment Gains, Principal, Professional Investors, Reuters, risk, Scott Barber, Treasury Securities, Universal Perspective
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Cliff Asness: Uncertainty is Not the Problem Holding Back the Economy

Monday, April 2nd, 2012

Nick Schulz, editor-in-chief of American.com, recently interviewed Cliff Asness, the managing and founding principal of the hedge fund AQR Capital Management. Last year, Asness wrote a provocative piece in the Wall Street Journal about what’s holding the economy back, arguing that “Uncertainty is Not the Problem.” He said: “Many commentators blame our continuing economic woes on ‘uncertainty.’ They allege that recent and anticipated dramatic policy changes make business planning difficult, and that this is retarding growth and employment. This view is not wrong—but our main problem is not the uncertainty surrounding new policies. It is the policies.” Schulz asked Asness to expand on this idea as shown below.

Source: The American, March 27, 2012.

Tags: Capital Management, Cliff Asness, Commentators, Economic Woes, Economy, Employment, Hedge Fund, Nick Schulz, Principal, Provocative Piece, Uncertainty, Wall Street, Wall Street Journal
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