This page shows the annualized monthly return of major asset classes during different parts of the economic cycle since 1998. There is not one asset class that consistently outperforms. For example, equities tend to outperform fixed income during an expansion, but tends to underperform fixed income when the economy enters the late cycle cooling or contraction stage. Therefore, diversification and timely review of asset allocation is important to provide consistent risk adjusted returns throughout the whole market cycle.