Pandemic

Tipping Point for Value?

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Quiz!

Which factors may contribute to value (low Price/Book) outperformance moving forward? (There may be multiple answers.)

  1. A change in sentiment.
  2. Rising bond interest rates.
  3. Expectation for inflation.
  4. Very low valuations.
  5. Very low valuations relative to growth (high Price/Book) stocks.
  6. Economic recovery from the pandemic.
  7. The best option out there.

Tipping Point for Value?

Last year will go into the history books given the pandemic. But another, less noticed, rare thing happened. Growth stocks, those with a high price relative to the company’s book value (P/B), or intrinsic value, went from very expensive to extremely expensive – a level barely second to the late 1990’s. While they’ve become more expensive for a while, there was a big spike in unprofitable small growth stocks. Last time we had a spike even close to this magnitude was around 1999. This is very reassuring for Value stocks, because often a long-lasting trend ends in a big spike in the direction of the trend, followed by a sharp reversal. For value stocks in the US, last time the reversal meant a 50% outperformance in a mere 2 years.

There are a number of logical reasons to see a reversal at this point:

  1. A change in sentiment: The reversal already started a few months ago, long enough for people to take note, and start treating it more like a new trend than noise.
  2. Expectation for inflation: Two forces are leading to an expectation for higher inflation: (1) Dramatic government stimulus; (2) The Fed planning to hold interest rates low until after inflation overshoots the typical target. Bond prices already started declining reflecting this expectation.
  3. Very low valuations relative to growth (high Price/Book) stocks: With the valuations of growth stocks going so much higher relative to value stocks, growth stocks became much more dangerous. People took note and started shifting towards value stocks.
  4. Economic recovery from the pandemic: Value stocks tend to outperform at times of economic recovery.

Note that value stocks outside the US have much lower valuations than US stocks – near record difference, making them even more appealing. As always, there could be surprises, and it is important to structure your financial picture to account for them.

Quiz Answer:

Which factors may contribute to value (low Price/Book) outperformance moving forward? (There may be multiple answers.)

  1. A change in sentiment. [Correct Answer]
  2. Rising bond interest rates. [Correct Answer]
  3. Expectation for inflation. [Correct Answer]
  4. Very low valuations.
  5. Very low valuations relative to growth (high Price/Book) stocks. [Correct Answer]
  6. Economic recovery from the pandemic. [Correct Answer]
  7. The best option out there. [Correct Answer]

Explanations: #4 is only partly correct. In the US value stocks are not low relative to their historic average, though they are very low relative to growth stocks. Outside the US, valuations are clearly low.

See article for more explanations about the correct answers.

Disclosures Including Backtested Performance Data

What Happens When Interest Rates & Inflation Rise?

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Quiz!

What typically happens to stocks when interest rates & inflation rise?  (There may be multiple answers.)

  1. Stocks go down.
  2. Stocks go up.
  3. Growth (high P/B) stocks go down.
  4. Growth (high P/B) stocks go up.
  5. Value (low P/B) stocks go down.
  6. Value (low P/B) stocks go up.

Look for the answer below and read this month’s article for a discussion.

What Happens When Interest Rates & Inflation Rise?

Optimism about the pandemic’s direction led to expectation for inflation along with rising interest rates in the past month.  The direct impact of inflation and rising rates is damage to stocks & bonds.  This is especially true for growth (high P/B) stocks that obtain much of their value from earnings far into the future – earnings that are less valuable, the higher the inflation.

Beyond the initial reaction, value and Emerging Markets (EM) investments tend to do very well from conditions like today.  The closest example is the behavior of Extended-Term Component (ET) in 2003.

Extended-Term Component (ET) Behavior with Expectation for Higher Interest Rates and Inflation
6/9/2003 2/26/2021
ET P/B 0.93 1.01 (lower equivalent given the profitability tilt since 2014)
Time since recent low 8 months 11 months
10-year treasury rates Increased fast (2% in 2 months) Increased (1% in 7 months)
Federal rates went up starting 1 year later (6/30/2004) ?
Federal rates went up by 4.25% in 2 years! ?
Dollar High and declining High, and peaked recently
ET gained An additional 449% in 4.5 years ?

Every case is different, and I don’t necessarily expect a repeat gain of 449% in 4.5 years.  This information shows that rising rates have not been bad for your investments historically.

Note that in the example above, growth stocks also did very well, but their valuations were substantially lower than today.  Between the positive forces of the economy and stimulus and the negative impact of extreme valuations, it is tough to predict gains or declines for growth stocks.

While I cannot predict future returns, there are a number of factors that would lead me to optimism for both EM and Value investments in upcoming years.  Here is some logic:

  1. Interest rates reached record lows in recent months, and there are mounting forces for higher interest rates and inflation.  This hurts growth stocks, making value stocks more attractive on a relative basis.
  1. During economic recoveries, cyclical value stocks tend to do especially well.
  1. The dollar is relatively high, and has plenty of room to go down, increasing the value of non-US investments.
  1. An economic recovery from the pandemic would lead to a benefit for stocks in general, especially ones that are not already priced high.  The discount of value stocks relative to growth stocks is still at a real extreme.
  1. Beyond value vs. growth, EM Value stocks are priced extremely low relative to US Value stocks.

While the 2003 example above seems most relevant, a more recent situation of rising rates was 2016-2017, where ET enjoyed a 99% gain in about 2 years, within weeks after the Fed started raising rates.  To emphasize, no specific result is guaranteed, but fear of rising rates hurting EM and Value stocks would not be rooted in past experience.

Quiz Answer:

What typically happens to stocks when interest rates & inflation rise?  (There may be multiple answers.)

  1. Stocks go down.
  2. Stocks go up.  [Correct Answer]
  3. Growth (high P/B) stocks go down.
  4. Growth (high P/B) stocks go up.  [Correct Answer]
  5. Value (low P/B) stocks go down.
  6. Value (low P/B) stocks go up.  [Correct Answer]

Explanations:  In general, stocks tend to go up when interest rates & inflation go up, reflecting an expanding economy.  Value stocks tend to outperform growth stocks, as the higher rates & inflation hurt the value of future earnings.  Note that the valuations of growth stocks are extremely high at this point, so it is tough to project their future.

Disclosures Including Backtested Performance Data

The Surprises & The Expected of 2020

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Quiz!

In which ways was 2020 different than other big declines (e.g. 2008 & 2000)? (There may be multiple correct answers.)

  1. It was deeper.
  2. It was shorter.
  3. It was scarier.
  4. It was longer.
  5. The turnaround came before economic improvement.
  6. The government & central bank support were bigger than usual.

The Surprises & The Expected of 2020

The pandemic of 2020 was shocking to investors and humans in general. It involved substantial uncertainty, leading people to predict years of pain for stock investments. While the split between surprises & the expected will vary depending on the reader, below is my split.

Surprises:

  1. While the key actions to contain the pandemic were known early on (looking at some Asian countries), the magnitude of unwillingness to take these actions seriously in other countries was greater than I expected, leading to a much worse result than possible otherwise. While stocks recovered rapidly, they could have bottomed higher, with fewer lives lost on the way.

Expected:

  1. The decline was shorter than typical, because it didn’t come from a position of economic leverage and euphoria.
  2. When panic took hold in March, the Fed repeated its 2008 announcement, being prepared to do whatever it would take to support the economy. Other countries operated similarly.
  3. The turnaround came as soon as the level of uncertainty diminished, far before the economy improved, as typical.
  4. While the economy is still hurting badly, it started the turnaround much earlier than in prior declines, thanks to the cause being a shock and not leverage.
  5. Many people said about this decline that it’s different, and will last much longer than past declines. Fortunately, this prediction failed, as typical when made at past times of uncertainty.

The specifics of every market decline are different, creating a need to prepare for declines of varying lengths & depths, worse than we experienced before. While the specifics vary, there are some truths that follow through the cycles, especially some level of correlation between starting valuations (e.g. Price/Book) of risky assets and the severity of the decline. With the right planning, whether cash set aside or low spending relative to liquid assets, there is no need to label any case as “this time is different”. The more prepared you are, the stronger you can be going through scary times, with discipline to avoid panic selling at the depth of the decline.

Quiz Answer:

In which ways was 2020 different than other big declines (e.g. 2008 & 2000)? (There may be multiple correct answers.)

  1. It was deeper.
  2. It was shorter. [Correct Answer]
  3. It was scarier. [Correct Answer]
  4. It was longer.
  5. The turnaround came before economic improvement.
  6. The government & central bank support were bigger than usual. [Correct Answer]

Explanations:

  1. This decline was shallower than the other two declines.
  2. This decline was dramatically shorter than the other two declines.
  3. While every decline is scary, this was scarier, because we haven’t seen such a widespread pandemic in our lifetimes.
  4. This decline was dramatically shorter than the other two declines.
  5. In most declines, the turnaround comes far ahead of the economic turnaround. It comes from a combination of government & central banks (e.g. the Fed) support along with an expectation for a future turnaround.
  6. Both 2008 and 2020 saw very big government & central bank support, but this year’s support was even bigger.

See article for more explanations.

Disclosures Including Backtested Performance Data