This page looks at the total return of a 60/40 portfolio, or a portfolio comprised of 60% equities – represented by the S&P 500 – and 40% bonds – represented by the Bloomberg U.S. aggregate – rebalanced annually. The chart goes back to 1950, showing over 70 years’ worth of annual data.

2022 was clearly a painful year for investors, but this chart helps to put that pain into perspective. Not only was 2022 among the worst years for a 60/40 portfolio since the mid-1970s, it was also the first time since 1974 that the bond market amplified the pain felt in stocks. In other words, it is incredibly unusual for markets to have moved the way they did in 2022.