March 2020 began a vicious market decline that saw portfolio values collapse. On March 23rd the Dow hit a low of 18,213.65*. This was not the first market correction that occurred this century. The first few years of the early 2000’s were marred by the losses of the Dot-com bubble bursting, and fast forward to 2008, we saw the housing bubble burst and the beginning of the “Great Recession.” While, markets have greatly recovered this year, the tumultuous nature of the first few months greatly depleted investors savings.

When I sat down in early February to reevaluate the piece, What’s Your Favorite Fixed Income Alternative, the 10-year treasury hovered near historic lows, by March, they had plunged further than many expected. March was the most volatile month we’ve seen since the Great Depression, not only in equities, but in bonds too. U.S. sovereign debt has traded at highest highs, with yields dropping to .318% on the 10-year and 1.34% on the 30-year*. Falling interest rates have resulted in gains for bond funds and bonds trading in the secondary market. With bonds trading at record highs, talk to your clients about potential bond alternatives for a few reasons.