This Stocks, Bonds, Bills, and Inflation® (SBBI®): 2020 Summary Edition enables investors to understand how to calculate, interpret, and use the US historical stock and bond data that the CFA Institute Research Foundation has made available to CFA Institute members.
The data include the capital appreciation, income, and total returns of the major asset classes of the US economy: large-cap stocks, small-cap stocks, corporate bonds, government bonds of various maturities, and inflation. Most of the data start in 1926, and are presented in monthly, annual, decade, or longer period form. The raw data itself are mostly monthly but are not included in this summary volume. Rather, this summary volume includes illustrative data, methodology, formulae, and analysis that will help investors and analysts learn how to use market time series raw data, which is separately available.
Even though many readers of this SBBI® Summary Edition will not have direct access to the raw SBBI® dataset, the summary edition is still likely to be of broad interest. It is an excellent way for those starting out in the investment industry to gain a quick understanding of the major asset classes, how returns are calculated, and the long-run perspective. Many of those investment professionals who are more established in their careers will be aware of the SBBI® dataset but still may not have direct access to the raw SBBI® data. This summary edition will help them to understand the dataset and its many uses, including the impact of size, value/growth, and liquidity on returns. CFA Institute members will have free access to the raw SBBI® data itself, and they will be able to develop their own optimization and forecasting techniques solely with the SBBI® data or combined with external time series data sources.
The SBBI® Summary Edition is an abridged version of the full-version SBBI Yearbook. The full-version 2021 Stocks, Bonds, Bills, and Inflation® (SBBI®) Yearbook includes all of the raw SBBI® data and additional interpretive analysis, plus pre-calculated tables of summary performance statistics, index values, inflation-adjusted returns, various “building block” premia (e.g., bond default premium, bond horizon premium, small stock premium, etc.), and optimization inputs.