This year has been different: The MSCI ACWI of global stocks is down 3% since the start of 2018 and the S&P 500 in November dipped into negative territory for the year, and was trailing cash for most of the fall until a recent bounce. The Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate Index of government and corporate bonds is down 3.2% on the year. The return of cash as a viable alternative signals a major change in investor sentiment and poses a risk to the nearly 10-year bull market in stocks. For years, a key pillar of the bull market in stocks was the TINA effect, wherein “there is no alternative” to stocks. Equities, even if expensive, were seen as the right way to go since other asset classes offered worse returns. But after nearly a year of weak returns and roller-coaster markets, that paradigm appears to be shifting. https://www.wsj.com/articles/as-markets-wobble-cash-is-king-1543921730