24th July 2026

Is there a missing asset class for retirees?

Market data shows bonds and equities are not always the diversifiers investors assume, with periods where both asset classes fall together. Fidelity Adviser Solutions’ Paul Squirrell explores what long-term correlation data tells us and how incorporating annuities alongside bonds and drawdown could help deliver more resilient and sustainable retirement income strategies. 

Conventional wisdom is that bonds and equities are negatively correlated. When equities rise bonds fall and vice versa, but this is a relatively recent phenomenon. 

Analysis of the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index provides 46 years (1976–2022) of data to explore. Comparing this with data from the S&P 500 reveals that equities and bonds moved in different directions about one third of the time and both moved up more than 50% of the time. However, in nearly one quarter out of every 10, both equities and bonds were down. Adjusting for inflation, bonds and stocks were both down approximately one quarter out of six. About once every year and a half.

5-minute read 

Retirement, Investments, Pensions