WIP - Major Asset Classes: May 2023 Performance Review
2023-06-01 11:30:00 ET
Summary
- Most major asset classes fell in May, with US stocks and cash being the exceptions.
- Vanguard Total US Stock Market ETF saw a 0.4% increase in May and a 9% increase year-to-date.
- The Global Market Index fell by 1.0% in May, but still holds a 6.5% year-to-date rise.
Most of the major asset classes fell in May. The upside exceptions: US stocks and cash. Otherwise, red ink prevailed last month, based on a set of proxy ETFs representing the world's primary markets.
Vanguard Total US Stock Market ETF ( VTI ) edged up 0.4% in May, marking the fund's third straight monthly gain. VTI is also posting the strongest year-to-date rise for the major asset classes, advancing nearly 9% so far in 2023.
Most markets around the world are sitting on gains for the year. One of the handful of exceptions: Foreign real estate/REITs via Vanguard Global ex-U.S. Real Estate Index Fund ( VNQI ). The ETF suffered the biggest loss in May among the major asset classes and is down 4.9% for the year.
The Global Market Index (GMI) fell last month, losing 1.0%. The decline is the first monthly setback for the index since February. This unmanaged benchmark (maintained by CapitalSpectator.com) holds all the major asset classes (except cash) in market-value weights and represents a competitive benchmark for multi-asset-class portfolios. Despite last month's loss, GMI is holding on to a solid 6.5% year-to-date rise.
Reviewing GMI's performance in context with US stocks ((VTI)) and US bonds ( BND ) over the past year continues to reflect a relatively narrow range of performances. GMI's one-year performance is a fractional 0.4% decline vs. a 1.3% rise for VTI and a 2.7% drop for BND.
Editor's Note: The summary bullets for this article were chosen by Seeking Alpha editors.
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Major Asset Classes: May 2023 Performance Review