Higher Bond Yields Have Changed What Safety Means

At least once a year, regardless of market conditions, some investment bank or another announces that it is “redefining” investing. I remember attending a presentation way back in 2019 at which a senior banker argued that, after nearly a decade of low bond yields, the standard 60/40 portfolio (60% stocks, 40% bonds) needed to be rethought. After a long song and dance, his “redefinition” amounted to putting some riskier assets in the bond portfolio to goose returns.