Over the previous decade, it didn’t matter much whether you left cash at the bank or put it in a money market fund, CD, Treasury, or under your mattress.

Today, though still modest, savings account rates are at their highest level since the Great Recession. Meanwhile, yields on cash alternatives have skyrocketed.

Carl Kaufman gives the Fed a C+ for their moves this year. Like the embarrassing uncle, the Fed is late to the party with raising rates and may be overstaying their welcome.

It was the worst three month stretch for bonds since 1980. The Bloomberg Barclays Aggregate bond index fell 6%. The index yields about 2.5%, meaning it lost over two years of expected income in a quarter. Add in high inflation, and bonds had a dismal start to the year.

Lesser challenges have derailed past bull markets. And yet, we’re thirteen years into the post-Great Recession uptrend. All but three of those years have featured double-digit S&P 500 returns. The last three years have been the best run since the late 1990s.

What a wonderful time to be an investor, right?

March 2020 offers an excellent case study for how BEW rebalances client portfolios. Studies demonstrate that rebalancing systems drive significant long-term value. March 2020 was a strong validation of concept.

The Fed actions in suppressing interest income is like Aesop’s fable where the wind and the sun try to see who can make a man remove his coat. The sun wins because the harder the wind blows the tighter the man holds onto his coat. Similarly, the more the Fed pushes rates lower, the more people save and the less they spend.

"Anyone who isn't confused doesn't really understand the situation." -Edward R. Murrow