Advisors Push Portfolio Rebalancing as Bonds Sell Off — SkimNews
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- Financial advisors including Jude Boudreaux, Cathy Curtis, and Kamila Elliott are urging investors to rebalance portfolios, calling it one of the "most useful" investment ideas despite being "least sexy," as stock-heavy allocations have grown riskier than intended.
- The S&P 500 has returned 24% in 2023, 23% in 2024, and 16% in 2025 — well above the roughly 10% long-term average — fueled by tech and AI enthusiasm, and remains up more than 11% in 2026 despite dipping from an August all-time high.
- U.S. Treasury bonds have sold off since the Iran war began at the end of February, with the 10-year yield hitting its highest level since 2023 on Wednesday; the iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEF) is down more than 4% YTD and the Fidelity Long-Term Treasury Bond Index Fund (FNBGX) is down more than 5%.
- Stocks slid on Wednesday as oil prices topped $100 a barrel, intensifying inflation concerns that have pushed global government borrowing costs to multiyear highs.
- Rebalancing would typically shift gains from stocks into bonds at a discount — what advisors compare to "buying the dip" — while locking in profits and curbing the urge to time the market amid multiple geopolitical conflicts, a new Federal Reserve chair, and AI disruption.
- Curtis noted equity outperformance has been "fairly broad across the market," not just tech-heavy names, meaning most investors' allocations have drifted stock-heavy; Elliott cautioned this is "not a fire sale" and rebalancing can have tax consequences in taxable brokerage accounts, with gradual shifts or new cash flows as alternatives.
Why it matters: With the classic 60/40 portfolio now skewed by years of outsized stock returns and a bond rout tied to the Iran war and $100 oil, individual investors face hidden concentration risk just as geopolitical volatility spikes. Advisors argue rebalancing forces a disciplined "buy low, sell high" move into beaten-down bonds, though taxable-account investors may owe capital gains — making the tax-aware timing of any shift a real-dollar trade-off.
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