Retail Investors Have Been Hit Hard by Stock Losses—and Bonds Aren’t Helping

Private-wealth portfolios have taken hits from both equities and bonds, leaving investors with few safe havens. Clearwater Analytics’ analysis of portfolios with at least $30 million in assets shows bonds contributed roughly 0.25 percentage point of losses year-to-date through March 27. Bond selloffs in late March were driven by fears that inflation from rising oil prices will keep interest rates higher for longer, leaving fixed-income returns flat for the year and offering little relief from stock-market declines. The report suggests wealthy clients face pressure to rebalance as both equity and bond allocations underperform, with implications for portfolio risk-taking and asset-allocation decisions.