Fei Mei Chan
Director, Core Product Management, S&P Dow Jones Indices
A Stalwart Delivers
U.S. equities struggled again in the past three months. The last rebalance for the S&P 500® Low Volatility Index was in August 2022 and the S&P 500 has since declined 7.0%. The S&P 500 Low Volatility Index, which has historically moderated the performance of the benchmark, lost 5.1% in the same period. For the entirety…
Taking Higher Interest Rates in STRIDE
When it rains, it pours, and there’s no lack of bad news in 2022. The equity market is in solid bear territory, with the S&P 500® down 22% YTD. Inflation is high, and the Federal Reserve has aggressively hiked interest rates in recent months. The latest cycle of rate increases has happened faster than at…
Equity Woes Continue
Canadian equities continued their decline, losing another 8.76% (through September 15, 2022) since the last rebalance of the S&P/TSX Low Volatility Index on June 17. Characteristically for a falling market, Low Volatility outperformed (by 13 basis points), declining 8.63%. As it had done in June, volatility again increased for every sector of the S&P/TSX Composite…
Low Volatility Holds Its Own
If the first six months of 2022 were defined by the woes of equities, the year’s second half has been defined (so far!) by a comeback. Since hitting a low in mid-June, the S&P 500® has gained an impressive 17.1% through Aug. 18, 2022. In such an environment, low volatility strategies are expected to underperform,…
Bearing Through
On Monday, June 13, 2022, the S&P 500® officially entered bear market territory, having lost more than 20% of the value from its peak on Jan. 3, 2022. Just as we didn’t know on Jan. 3 that the market was going to decline, today we don’t know the full extent and duration of the new…
- Categories Equities, S&P 500 & DJIA
- Tags bear market, core, S&P 500, U.S. equities, US FA
- Categories
- Equities, S&P 500 & DJIA
Canadian Equities Go the Way of Global Equities
There has been no shortage of macroeconomic headwinds in 2022. Canadian equities were an exception in posting gains for the first three months of the year, but they have since fallen in step with most global equity markets. The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 12.07% since its last rebalance on March 17, 2022. Uncommonly, the S&P/TSX…
A Reliable Strategy in Unreliable Times
Try as one might, it is hard not to notice the woes of equities this year. Through May 19, 2022, the S&P 500® has declined 18%, losing 9% in the last three months alone. This pain was felt across most sectors of the index, with only Consumer Staples, Energy, and Utilities in positive territory for…
Hedging Diversification Bets
Low volatility strategies were designed for times like the ones we’ve experienced so far in 2022. Year-to-date through March 31, 2022, equities have struggled. In the U.S., the S&P 500® was down 4.6% YTD. The S&P Developed Ex-U.S. BMI and the S&P Emerging Plus LargeMidCap fared even worse, plummeting 5.6% and 6.7% YTD, respectively. But…
Canadian Equities Offer Some Solace amid World Turmoil
Despite global geopolitical tensions, Canadian equities, in contrast to U.S. equities, seem to be faring well. Since its rebalance on Dec. 17, 2021, the S&P/TSX Composite gained 5.7% (through March 17, 2022). It was no surprise that the S&P/TSX Composite Low Volatility Index lagged—what was surprising was that it lagged by 1.3%, rising 4.4% over…
Rising Rate Reflections
The Federal Open Market Committee voted to raise the Federal Funds rate by 25 bps on March 16, 2022. This move was well telegraphed and not at all surprising—but that doesn’t mean that we won’t hear concerns about how rising rates will impact equity returns. Finance theory teaches us that, other things equal, rising interest…