Ryan Graves, CFA, CFP

Zero Rates Fueled Stock Surge; Rising Yields Restore Choice

Here's why the last 20(ish) years of stock market returns were so extraordinary, and somewhat predictable. After the 2008 financial crisis, the Fed slashed interest rates to essentially zero and kept them there for years, so cash and bonds paid nothing (real negative at points) It was dubbed 'TINA' = There Is No Alternative. Asset allocators had to shove money into stocks, because there was literally nowhere else. Today, the 10-year Treasury yields around 4.4%. Alternatives exist again.