Weekend Reading – S&P 500 vs Rest of the world & worldwide performance of 60/40 Portfolios
Weekend Reading is a collection of Investment Research and Lifestyle topics from all corners of the Web. We source the highest quality insights from Wall Street and Main Street that you may apply to your investment process. Unlike the rest of Bankeronwheels.com, this series is provided without additional guidance. As usual, everything is to be used at your own risk. Below is the type of content we shortlist:
Action is the antidote to anxiety
Featured
Buying the S&P 500 today? Wait. These 7 Graphs Might Change Your Mind. (Banker on Wheels)
As portfolio managers, we are constantly reminded of changes in the world’s economy. Yet, our minds tend to resist change. Over the past 20 years, I visited most of the U.S. States. I spent time at NYU and joined a prestigious Wall Street Graduate Programme in the late 2000s. I was impressed by the Silicon Valley. But while cycling the world, I was confronted with realities that I previously underestimated. I wouldn’t bet against the U.S., but I wouldn’t underestimate other markets either. Here are risks and opportunity costs to consider by concentrating your investments.
Portfolio Construction
Asset Allocation
(50-page PDF) Long-Term Performance of Domestic 60/40 Portfolios (CFA Institute)
This report highlights the critical role of asset allocation in shaping long-term investment returns, with a particular focus on the traditional 60/40 equity/bond allocation model commonly used by pension funds. We analyse how the 60/40 model has performed over time and the challenges it may face in today’s shifting economic landscape. The first of a two-part series, this report focuses on the historical performance of the 60/40 strategy.
- Did Real Assets Provide an Inflation Hedge When Investors Needed it Most? (CFA Institute)
- Impact of Currencies and Hedging on Portfolio Risk (Morningstar)
- The Perfect Pairing for Your U.S. Large Cap Portfolio? (GMO)
- Portfolio diversification: Why cash isn't king (JP Morgan)
- How Should Your Allocation Change With Age? (Of Dollars and Data)
Understand Financial Markets
The Narrative Shifts So Far In 2025 (Evergreen)
Trump is betting that the media is able to focus only on one thing at a time. If the administration comes out with 100 things at once, explained Bannon, the media is overwhelmed. It’s not just the media! Investors have definitely been kept on their toes by the news flow. Consider just some of the recent developments so far in 2025 that have the potential to shift market narratives.
How To Invest
Active Investing
Factor Investing
Discretionary Investing
Berkshire Hathaway Annual Letter (Berkshire Hathaway)
This letter comes to you as part of Berkshire’s annual report. As a public company, we are required to periodically tell you many specific facts and figures. “Report,” however, implies a greater responsibility. In addition to the mandated data, we believe we owe you additional commentary about what you own and how we think. Our goal is to communicate with you in a manner that we would wish you to use if our positions were reversed – that is, if you were Berkshire’s CEO while I and my family were passive investors, trusting you with our savings.
Alternative Asset Classes
What is the Future of Alternative Investing? (SSRN)
lternative investments, or alts, cost too much to be a fixture of institutional investing. A diverse portfolio of alts costs at least 3% to 4% of asset value, annually. Institutional expense ratios are 1% to 3% of asset value, depending on the extent of their alts allocation. Alts bring extraordinary costs but ordinary returns — namely, those of the underlying equity and fixed income assets. Alts have had a significantly adverse impact on the performance of institutional investors since the GFC.
Wall Street
The $124 Trillion Global Stock Market (Aswath Data) (Visual Capitalist)
America’s dominance of the global stock market is unrivaled, and its share has only grown in the past two years. The outperformance of the S&P 500 has played a role in America’s leading position, averaging 14.8% compound average returns over the past decade. Global equities, represented by the MSCI ACWI (excluding the U.S.) Index, have returned 7% by comparison. This graphic shows the world’s publicly-traded companies in 2025, based on data from Aswath Damodaran.
Bad Bets
ETFs
UCITS ETFs
US ETFs
The Hidden Costs of Index Tracking (Winton)
Index trackers offer investors a cheap way to gain exposure to stocks markets. But with estimates putting the value of assets recreating the S&P 500 at over 10% of total index capitalisation, investing in an S&P 500 tracker is akin to buying a US$1.5 trillion managed equity portfolio [6]. In this study, we analyse the S&P 500, the most prominent market-cap-weighted index in the world, and estimate a hidden turnover cost of about 20 basis points per year.
Wealth Management
Personal Finance
Proportion of Millionaires by country (invest.billionaire )
According to the 2024 Global Wealth Report, the number of millionaires worldwide has skyrocketed to a staggering 58 million! That means 1.5% of the adult population are now part of this elite group. This surge in wealth reflects global economic growth, thriving markets, and new opportunities in industries like tech and finance. But it’s not just the big players like the U.S. and China driving these numbers—smaller nations like Monaco, Switzerland, and Singapore continue to boast the highest proportions of millionaires relative to their populations.
Platforms
ING DiBa Review – A solid choice for passive investors (Banker on Wheels)
ING‑DiBa is one of Germany’s largest retail banks and a significant online broker. Its services are limited to German residents, and while its trading platform may not offer all the sophisticated features of specialized brokers, it provides a solid experience for passive investors. The ETF savings plans are competitively priced, and the product range is extensive. Moreover, the seamless integration with full banking services makes ING‑DiBa particularly attractive for existing ING customers.
(Early) Retirement
Financial Advice
Design Your Lifestyle
Personal Development
We live in a world that often feels relentless – the noise, the chaos, the never-ending demands on our time and energy. It can leave us frazzled, burnt out, and disconnected from our deepest selves. But what if there was another way? A gentler approach that could help us reclaim our peace, rediscover our joy, and create the space to live with more intention and purpose?
Health & Wellness
- Simple Exercises That Can Repair Tendons (Tennis Elbow, etc.), Collagen Fact vs. Fiction, Isometrics vs. Eccentrics (The Tim Ferris Show)
- Want to Change Your Personality? Have a Baby. (The Atlantic)
- How ‘Event Scripts’ Structure Our Personal Memories (Quanta Magazine)
- A Radical New Proposal For How Mind Emerges From Matter (Noema)
Careers & Entrepreneurship
Travel
Cycling Tibet – Spiritual, Ballistic, Magnificent. (Banker on Wheels)
“What did you think of China?” is a question I got frequently asked. It’s complex. But a day from my life on the bike can give you some flavour. The highlight of my trip to China is without any doubt the Qinghai Province. Logistically, China was also the most challenging country on a bike. Here is why. Qinghai is located in the North-Western part of China bordering the Tibetan Autonomous Region from the North and the Silk Road from the South. It is home to one out of four Tibetans.
Tech & Economy
Economy
- Great Powers, Geopolitics, and the Future of Trade (BCG)
- Book Review: The Making of Modern Corporate Finance (CFA Institute)
- The South Sea Bubble - The First Financial Crash (Patrick Boyle)
- Has Japan Mastered Economic Stagnation? (Economics Explained)
- From Investment to Savings: When Finance Feeds on Itself (American Affairs)
Tech & Science
- Meta's head of AI: Yann LeCun does not believe in the future of generative AI (Heise Online)
- Matt Mullenweg (Co-Founder WordPress): WordPress Controversy, Future of Open Source AI, and Navigating Backlash (Logan Bartlett Show)
- DeepSeek crashes the AI Party: Story break, change or shift? (Aswath Damodaran)
And Finally
Good Luck and Keep’em* Rolling!
(* Wheels & Dividends)
Trade Wars, Real Wars, but Equities Close To All-Time Highs: Is It A Good Time To Invest?
7 Reasons Why Japan May Be Your Next Cycling Adventure
Nomads in 2026: Genki vs SafetyWing – Which Travel Insurance Wins?
How You Can Cycle The World – A Practical Guide
Weekend Reading – Vanguard Cuts Fees across 15 ETFs & IBKR launches prediction markets
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