1) BULLSEYE
Highlights
Portfolio Chemistry
American satirist Will Rogers once said, “I am more concerned with the return of my money than the return on my money.”
This is true of many risk-averse investors who seek to find the right balance of risk and return from their investments.
Unfortunately, many investors forget the element of risk when times are good and instead chase the high-flying performance of
the stock market. But when the market turns downward, they realize they should have kept risk management in the forefront
of their minds. So how can an investor find a healthy blend of risk and return? First, they need to understand their investment
goals, risk tolerance, and time horizon. Then they need to build a portfolio that accurately reflects those objectives.
Through the use of diversification, investors can attempt to spread their investment risk across multiple markets to lower
the combined risk of an overall portfolio. One way to effectively diversify is to combine less-volatile assets with riskier ones.
That concept is fairly intuitive, not unlike the idea of adding cold water to hot water, resulting in warm water. Typically,
this lukewarm risk control approach can result in watered-down returns because less risky investments often provide lower
returns, on average. Using a blend of high-risk and low-risk investments may be fine for many people, especially those who
are extremely risk averse and like-minded with Will Rogers. It explains why many investors turn to bonds to reduce the risks
associated with stocks.
For many investors, the core of their portfolio consists
primarily of U.S. stocks because of the potential for strong
long-term performance and ease of access. But stocks also
have a well-known history of volatility, which makes some
investors uneasy. When discussing portfolio management,
standard deviation is often used as a measure of risk where
Blending Volatile Components
To Reduce Risk
Return
Another way to diversify is to combine additional volatile
assets, provided that they are uncorrelated—meaning,
investments that tend to move up and down at different times.
This second type of diversification is less intuitive. How can
you combine two risky assets and have less overall risk as a
result? In this case, forget about hot and cold water. Instead,
think about the water itself.
Hydrogen and oxygen are both highly flammable. But as you
may recall from high school chemistry class, when combined,
they make water (H2O)–as illustrated in the first image to the
right. In this case, two very volatile components are combined
to form the extremely stable compound we actually use to put
out fire.
The same could be said for combining some riskier investment
assets. As long as two asset classes move in different directions
at different times, they may stabilize one another, creating the
potential for significant diversification benefits. This idea of
offset correlation is illustrated in the second hypothetical image
to the right.
Investment A
Investment B
A+B Average
Risk
Hypothetical illustration, not intended to
represent actual investments.
2) the volatility of an investment can be measured by the amount and frequency that the price moves up and down. For
conservative investors who are seeking to reduce risk, bonds have historically been the diversifier of choice. But with interest
rates near all-time lows, some investors are seeking alternative sources of return other than bonds. When income is not an
objective, managed futures have provided an alternative source of lower-volatility diversification. The historic returns have been
compelling, while also maintaining a low correlation to stocks and bonds.
A common comment about commodities is that they are too risky. But for investors with a longer time horizon, or for those
with a greater risk tolerance, diversifying through the use of bonds may hinder the ability to generate the desired balance of
risk/return. This is where the idea of combining other volatile, but non-correlated investments may make sense. An example
might be commodities, which have risk-and-return statistics that seem even more volatile than stocks, but with a low historical
correlation. Many investors find it hard to comprehend adding an investment with more historical volatility in order to help to
reduce overall risk.
The graph below shows the 10-year historical risk/return averages. From the starting point of a 100% stock allocation, the
three lines show incremental blended exposure to bonds (red) , managed futures (green) and commodities (blue). As the image
shows, a stock investor could have added bonds to reduce risk, with a somewhat expected result of also reducing return. In
retrospect, it would be obvious to most investors to see the potential benefit of managed futures because of the lower risk and
higher returns. But it may not have been intuitive to see that allocating approximately 30% to commodities would have garnered
similar risk/return characteristics to managed futures where the blue and green lines intersect. Again, because stocks and
commodities often move up and down at different times, there can be significant diversification benefits resulting from the low
correlation.
Diversification of Stock Exposure
10-Year History (June 2004-June 2014)
16%
Managed Futures
14%
12%
Commodities
Return
10%
8%
Stocks
6%
4%
Bonds
2%
0%
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
18%
20%
Risk (Standard Deviation)
Stock/Commodity
Blend
Stock/Bond
Blend
Stock/Managed Futures
Blend
Past performance is no indication of future returns. The graph above is based on annualized index
data as proxies for stocks (S&P 500), bonds (Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index), managed futures
(A.I. Managed Futures Volatility Index) and commodities (Longview Extended Commodity Index). The
index data and hypothetical blended portfolios assume reinvestment of dividends, but do not include
fees. Indexes are not available for direct investment. Data sources: FactSet, calculated by Arrow.
Past performance is no indication of future returns. All investment methodologies have risks, both general and productspeciï¬c, including the risk of loss of principal. Alternative investments, such as commodities and managed futures, may have
additional risks not typically associated with stocks and bonds. Always read the prospectus or offering memorandum before
making any investment. The information provided is intended to be general in nature, not speciï¬c to any product or investor
proï¬le, and should not be construed as investment advice. This information is subject to change at anytime, based on market
volatility and other conditions, and should not be considered as a recommendation of any speciï¬c security. Arrow Funds are
distributed by Archer Distributors, LLC (member FINRA).
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