My plan for deploying cash over the next six months
Updated
NTSX is an ETF that holds 60% S&P 500, 40% leveraged bonds. This is a highly efficient portfolio composition known as "return stacking" (recently popularized on Twitter by Corey M. Hoffstein). You get the best of several worlds: the lower volatility of the 60-40 portfolio, and the higher returns offered by leverage. Since leverage is used on the relatively safer part of the portfolio (bonds rather than stocks), it doesn't add too much extra risk.
Stocks and bonds have sold off together over the last several months, creating a rare situation where there's been a large drawdown in 60-40 portfolios and in NTSX. I think there's an opportunity shaping up, but the hard part is going to be timing it. I've been sitting on a fair bit of cash for several months (you may have noticed I haven't posted much!) and am debating when to deploy it. It's likely still too early, but I think we're nearing good levels at which to deploy anywhere from a quarter to a third of it, and NTSX is a good vehicle for that. I'll likely hang onto the remainder of my cash till October.
Macroeconomic Considerations
Rates are soaring, and there's no question that will be a bit of a drag on growth. But it's offset by a strengthening dollar. The US is hiking rates faster than other developed markets, which has the dollar index soaring. A strong dollar is generally very good for US stocks. In fact, stocks usually rise as interest rates do, and it's only at the end of a rate hike cycle that we tend to see a recession.
There's probably a recession coming in the next couple years, but we're not there yet. Several parts of the yield curve recently inverted, which usually signals a recession in the next 18 months. You might think that means it's time to get defensive, but stocks often go up quite a bit after yield curve inversion and before the recession hits. (Plus, this yield curve signal has been a bit wonky, because parts of the curve are steepening while others flatten. So it's hard to know how to interpret this recent inversion.)
For the last several weeks, the Leading Economic Indicators index and the ECRI Weekly Leading Index have been steadily improving, a good sign for near-term growth. Meanwhile, commodities prices have weakened somewhat, with the GSG broad commodities ETF breaking its uptrend:
It's possible we could even see some disinflation, which would obviate the need for the Fed to get so aggressive.
There are certainly headwinds: China lockdowns, war in Ukraine, and rising US Covid cases. These headwinds need to be taken seriously. But there's also the possibility that any of these situations could suddenly improve at any time, especially if certain policymakers in Asia come to their senses. So I think it's worth having some exposure here.
Policy Considerations
So with the macro picture looking not too bad, why would I hold onto 2/3 of my cash? Because the Fed is about to start selling assets in May, including treasury and mortgage bonds. And when one of the biggest holders of assets starts selling, you probably don't want to be exposed.
Now, the market has been front-running this move for the last several months, and bonds have already have gotten a lot cheaper. It's quite possible that a lot of it is already priced in, and that we could see some counter-trend asset buying that will offset selling by the Fed. The market is also pricing in really aggressive Fed rate hikes, with a 50 basis point hike at the May meeting and 75 basis points in June. That expectation may prove to be too hawkish. The Fed's own dot-plot projections imply a somewhat slower hiking cycle than the market rate does:
cmegroup.com/trading/interest-rates/countdown-to-fomc.html
Any dovish surprise from the Fed might cause bond prices to pop.
But I still think you want to play it somewhat conservatively here. The ten-year yield is still much too low for this level of inflation, so on balance, there's probably more downside than upside ahead for bonds.
Seasonality Considerations
Usually, May inaugurates the bullish season for stocks. But this is a mid-term election year, and mid-term election years are usually bearish from May to October. This may be an especially bearish year, because we're likely to hear a lot of talk tough from candidates about how they're going to stop inflation.
The chart shows one possible scenario for how NTSX might move between now and October. I'm envisioning mostly sideways price action through July-August, followed by a summer selloff as we approach the election. If I'm right, then NTSX might even complete a full round-trip to pre-pandemic February 2020 levels by the end of the year. If this scenario does play out, then I'd probably deploy the rest of my cash around October.
That might be the bottom, with the rate hike cycle mostly complete. Or it might be the beginning of a recession, as rate hikes cause the economy to blow up. But if it does turn out to be the start of a recession, NTSX won't be too bad a place to hide out. Stocks will go down in a recession, but bonds will likely go up as the Fed lowers rates to stabilize the market. That's part of what makes NTSX such an attractive vehicle.
Stocks and bonds have sold off together over the last several months, creating a rare situation where there's been a large drawdown in 60-40 portfolios and in NTSX. I think there's an opportunity shaping up, but the hard part is going to be timing it. I've been sitting on a fair bit of cash for several months (you may have noticed I haven't posted much!) and am debating when to deploy it. It's likely still too early, but I think we're nearing good levels at which to deploy anywhere from a quarter to a third of it, and NTSX is a good vehicle for that. I'll likely hang onto the remainder of my cash till October.
Macroeconomic Considerations
Rates are soaring, and there's no question that will be a bit of a drag on growth. But it's offset by a strengthening dollar. The US is hiking rates faster than other developed markets, which has the dollar index soaring. A strong dollar is generally very good for US stocks. In fact, stocks usually rise as interest rates do, and it's only at the end of a rate hike cycle that we tend to see a recession.
There's probably a recession coming in the next couple years, but we're not there yet. Several parts of the yield curve recently inverted, which usually signals a recession in the next 18 months. You might think that means it's time to get defensive, but stocks often go up quite a bit after yield curve inversion and before the recession hits. (Plus, this yield curve signal has been a bit wonky, because parts of the curve are steepening while others flatten. So it's hard to know how to interpret this recent inversion.)
For the last several weeks, the Leading Economic Indicators index and the ECRI Weekly Leading Index have been steadily improving, a good sign for near-term growth. Meanwhile, commodities prices have weakened somewhat, with the GSG broad commodities ETF breaking its uptrend:
It's possible we could even see some disinflation, which would obviate the need for the Fed to get so aggressive.
There are certainly headwinds: China lockdowns, war in Ukraine, and rising US Covid cases. These headwinds need to be taken seriously. But there's also the possibility that any of these situations could suddenly improve at any time, especially if certain policymakers in Asia come to their senses. So I think it's worth having some exposure here.
Policy Considerations
So with the macro picture looking not too bad, why would I hold onto 2/3 of my cash? Because the Fed is about to start selling assets in May, including treasury and mortgage bonds. And when one of the biggest holders of assets starts selling, you probably don't want to be exposed.
Now, the market has been front-running this move for the last several months, and bonds have already have gotten a lot cheaper. It's quite possible that a lot of it is already priced in, and that we could see some counter-trend asset buying that will offset selling by the Fed. The market is also pricing in really aggressive Fed rate hikes, with a 50 basis point hike at the May meeting and 75 basis points in June. That expectation may prove to be too hawkish. The Fed's own dot-plot projections imply a somewhat slower hiking cycle than the market rate does:
cmegroup.com/trading/interest-rates/countdown-to-fomc.html
Any dovish surprise from the Fed might cause bond prices to pop.
But I still think you want to play it somewhat conservatively here. The ten-year yield is still much too low for this level of inflation, so on balance, there's probably more downside than upside ahead for bonds.
Seasonality Considerations
Usually, May inaugurates the bullish season for stocks. But this is a mid-term election year, and mid-term election years are usually bearish from May to October. This may be an especially bearish year, because we're likely to hear a lot of talk tough from candidates about how they're going to stop inflation.
The chart shows one possible scenario for how NTSX might move between now and October. I'm envisioning mostly sideways price action through July-August, followed by a summer selloff as we approach the election. If I'm right, then NTSX might even complete a full round-trip to pre-pandemic February 2020 levels by the end of the year. If this scenario does play out, then I'd probably deploy the rest of my cash around October.
That might be the bottom, with the rate hike cycle mostly complete. Or it might be the beginning of a recession, as rate hikes cause the economy to blow up. But if it does turn out to be the start of a recession, NTSX won't be too bad a place to hide out. Stocks will go down in a recession, but bonds will likely go up as the Fed lowers rates to stabilize the market. That's part of what makes NTSX such an attractive vehicle.
Note
Happened a lot faster than I expected, but hit my targets pretty well. I did deploy some cash, but I was a little conservative about it because the sell-off happened so fast.
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