Below is a great chart from Goldman Sachs. It shows the low or negative correlation between stocks and bonds we have seen over the past few decades has been in part attributable to the low inflationary regime over the period. This makes perfect sense given the way monetary policy has operated over the last twenty-five years, counter cyclical policy is very effective in periods of low and stable inflation. When equity markets start to become concerned about recessions ahead, earnings expectations reduce and valuation multiples contract. Stock prices fall. Bond markets typically would then anticipate the increased chance of the standard monetary policy response; cutting interest rates to spur economic growth. Bond prices rise. That explains the light blue dots below. The dual mandate was really a single mandate on unemployment, as the inflation side of the mandate was not biting.

On the other hand, periods of higher inflation have historically resulted in positive correlation between stocks and bonds, represented by the dark blue dots above. During periods of higher inflation, you tend to see rising interest rates, knocking bond prices down and putting pressure on equity multiples. It is much harder for monetary policy to operate in higher inflation environments to combat slowdowns, as the option of cutting interest rates is less easy. The two sides of the dual mandate are in conflict.
Sounds a bit like 2022. High inflation led to a more rapid rise in interest rates than expected, doing a lot of damage to long term bonds that were trading at very low levels – the US10 year ended 2021 at 1.50%. Equity valuation multiples were repriced lower as rates went higher. Stocks and bonds both went down. Portfolios built using bonds to diversify stocks, sometimes with leverage, saw some of the worst returns in decades.
While the long side of the return distribution has dominated since 1998, a return to higher inflation expectations, as seen from 1970 to 1998, requires the investor to consider the other side of the distribution when considering diversifying strategies.
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