
29 February 2024
Capital Markets and Strategy Team
While investing in volatile times can sometimes challenge your discipline and commitment, there are timeless principles to include in your investment strategy that can help ease your mind and keep you focused on the long term.
It’s rare for any investment to repeat as a top performer from one year to the next. Diversifying across various economies, businesses, countries, and popular investment classes can help spread risk, remain more consistent, and reduce the potential for underperforming assets to impact your portfolio.
Historical asset class rotation, 2013–2023
Calendar year total returns by class assets (%)


Source: Manulife Investment Management, Bloomberg, as of 31 December 2023. Total returns are shown in local currency or in USD for multimarket indexes.
In good times, investors are excited, they want to invest more and often “buy high.”
When markets turn negative, investors become fearful and decide to cut their losses and “sell low."
Stay disciplined and committed to your long-term investment plan to avoid riding the emotional roller coaster.
Watch a video on this topic (49s)
An investor’s emotional roller coaster

Source: John Hancock Investment, a company of Manulife Investment Management. This chart is an example and does not represent the performance of any actual investment. This is not meant as investment advice. For illustrative purposes only.
The difference between investment success and disappointment can boil down to a few days of being in or out of the markets.
By staying fully invested and not missing the best investment days in 2023, investors could have outperforming returns.
Watch a video on this topic (42s)
2023 S&P 500 Price Index
Fully invested vs. missing the best days

2023 The Bloomberg Global Aggregate Index
Fully invested vs. missing the best days

2023 The Bloomberg US Aggregate Index
Fully invested vs. missing the best days

Source: Bloomberg, Capital Market and Strategy Team from Manulife Investment Management. As of 31 December 2023. The charts are examples and do not represent the performance of any actual investment. This is not meant as investment advice. For illustrative purposes only.
Accept the fact that markets will rise and fall but over time markets have always moved higher.
Taking a long‑term perspective can help you stay the course when markets move from crisis to opportunity and back again.
Despite setbacks, the MSCI World Index shows growth over the long term
Growth of USD$10,000

Source: Bloomberg, Manulife Investment Management, as of December 31, 2023. For illustrative purposes only. Red circles indicate periods of market decline. The index is unmanaged and cannot be purchased directly by investors. Past performance does not guarantee future performance.
By investing a fixed dollar amount in regular intervals dollar cost averaging can help you buy more units of an investment at lower prices and fewer at higher prices.
This helps take the worry out of making a single lump-sum investment at the wrong time.
12-month comparison
$12,000 single lump-sum investment vs. $1,000 monthly investment using dollar cost averaging

For illustrative purposes only.
Making your money work for you
Inflation: the unseen tax that gradually erodes investors’ purchasing power
How to Set Smart and Effective Financial Goals
In previous episodes, we have explored creating a financial plan and establishing a budget that accounts for your current expenditure. The third step is to build a strategy that will help you accomplish either a short-term or a long-term financial goal. We will guide you on your path by providing financial goal examples and introducing SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time-based) objectives that help clearly define what you want to achieve in the years ahead.
5 ways a budget plan can help you manage your finances
We all know approximately how much money we need each month. However, without a clear spending strategy, you could see a shortfall in savings, face a lack of day-to-day cash, or be caught off guard by unexpected costs. That’s why it’s important to have an effective budget plan that will give you control over your finances.
Making your money work for you
Inflation: the unseen tax that gradually erodes investors’ purchasing power
Asset allocation views on SpaceX IPO, Reopening of Strait of Hormuz, and the BOJ rate hike
The Multi Asset Solutions Team (MAST) provides asset allocation views on three recent developments that could influence markets in different ways: the SpaceX Initial Public Offerings (IPO), the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) rate hike. In our view, these events create mixed signals across growth, inflation and liquidity. Overall, the backdrop still appears uneven, and this may support a measured and selective approach to asset allocation rather than a broad increase in risk.
China Fixed Income: From deflation to reflation: what comes next?