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Are 60-40 portfolios set for a comeback?
Julie Dickson
Investment Director
February 16, 2023

The classic 60/40 split between equities and fixed income has been a mainstay of balanced portfolios ever since the concept was invented in 1952. Yet questions are now being asked of this traditional investment approach following a dismal 2022 as both equities and fixed income fell in tandem.


However, investors should not overlook their long-term credentials because of a single bad year. Our analysis of a hypothetical 60/40 portfolio revealed that over a longer time frame, performances have been consistently solid, with positive returns in 15 out of the past 20 calendar years.


We also found that calendar years of negative results are typically followed by calendar years of strong positive results, reaffirming our belief that investors should consider, rather than be unduly concerned about 60/40 portfolios.


Historical calendar year results for a hypothetical 60/40 portfolio

Portfolios

Results in USD terms from 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2022 based on a hypothetical investment in 60% MSCI All Country World Index (net dividends reinvested), 40% Bloomberg Global Aggregate Total Return Index rebalanced monthly. 

While many readers would be familiar with the line ‘past results are not a guarantee of future results’, investment director Julie Dickson will be highlighting in this paper three factors that could potentially drive a comeback for 60/40 portfolios in 2023 and beyond.


Julie Dickson is an investment director at Capital Group. She has 29 years of investment industry experience and has been with Capital Group for seven years. Prior to joining Capital, Julie worked as the head of client portfolio management at Ashmore Group. Before that, she was the head of client portfolio management at Aviva Investors. She also held various positions at Axa Rosenberg, Mellon Global Investments, Barclays Global Investors and Merrill Lynch. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business management with concentration in finance from Cornell University. She also holds both the Investment Management Certificate and the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation. Julie is based in London.

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Past results are not predictive of results in future periods. It is not possible to invest directly in an index, which is unmanaged. The value of investments and income from them can go down as well as up and you may lose some or all of your initial investment. This information is not intended to provide investment, tax or other advice, or to be a solicitation to buy or sell any securities.

Statements attributed to an individual represent the opinions of that individual as of the date published and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Capital Group or its affiliates. All information is as at the date indicated unless otherwise stated. Some information may have been obtained from third parties, and as such the reliability of that information is not guaranteed.

Capital Group manages equity assets through three investment groups. These groups make investment and proxy voting decisions independently. Fixed income investment professionals provide fixed income research and investment management across the Capital organization; however, for securities with equity characteristics, they act solely on behalf of one of the three equity investment groups.