The past 12 months have been confusing and likely disappointing for most investors. We’re still in the midst of the longest period in history without a 20%+ S&P 500 drawdown, so it’s natural to worry that another one might be imminent. That underlying anxiety has been reflected in the U.S. equity market’s periodic bursts of volatility since September of last year.
You probably feel some of that anxiety yourself, but don’t have the time or inclination to decide how best to navigate through it. That’s why you’ve hired us. Our active investing portfolios were designed for times like the past year, to give our clients exposure to equities and derivatives and to help them avoid the losses that can result from equity market volatility. Take a look at the below charts to see how we’ve delivered on that mission.
Our active equities portfolios are well ahead of the Russell 1000 and Russell 2000 index to which we compare them (click here for more detail on these indices), as shown in the above chart of our most conservative active equities portfolio.
Our Titan and Sidereal active derivatives strategies are also well ahead of their comparison index, the S&P Short VIX futures index, or simply the Short Volatility Index, which on September 30th was down more than 20% from a year earlier.
Volatility bursts such as those of the past 12 months don’t generally allow for sustainable gains to be earned in equities or in VRP harvesting. That’s why our strategies are designed to identify the bursts as early as possible and wait them out.