You are holding a traditional 60-40 portfolio in stocks and bonds for the last five years. Specifically,

Fantastic news! We've Found the answer you've been seeking!

Question:

You are holding a traditional 60-40 portfolio in stocks and bonds for the last five years. Specifically, you have been holding the ASX200 index portfolio and the aggregate Australian bond portfolio. The index levels to these two asset classes are tabulated in Spreadsheet named 'FIN30020 Index or Price for various asset classes'. After learning that alternative investments could potentially enhance the risk-return trade-off of your portfolio, you have decided to consider the following international equities and alternative asset classes to be added to your current 60-40 portfolio:
1) S&P 500
2) S&P/ASX A-REIT 100
3) Bitcoin (relative to USD)
4) Gold
5) Foreign exchange - AUD/USD
The indices or prices for these asset classes are available from the same Excel File. They are
downloaded from publicly available websites such as Yahoo Finance and S&P Global. You are investing
for yourself so consider your own return objectives, risk appetite, and unique circumstances when
formulating the asset allocation.

Requirements:
1) Calculate the average return and standard deviation of your 60-40 portfolio over the last five years from the start of 2016 to the end of 2020. Note that you are provided with index levels or prices so you will have to calculate returns for these asset classes. Provide brief commentary on the historical performance.
2) Calculate the average return and standard deviations of the above five international/alternative investments over the same period. Estimate the correlations of the above five international/alternative investments with your portfolio. Briefly explain what your findings are.
3) Based on your return, standard deviation, and correlation analysis and considering your own return & risk preferences and unique circumstances, how would you adjust your 60-40 portfolio and incorporate these alternative investments into your portfolio? Propose a new
asset allocation with specific weights to the asset classes you want to invest in.
4) Based on your adjusted portfolio now with the inclusion of one or more alternative investments above, perform backtesting and calculate the average return and standard deviation if you had held the adjusted portfolio for the last five years. Is the adjusted portfolio
superior in terms of its risk and return tradeoff?
5) Justify and explain whether the historical return and standard deviation of your adjusted portfolio are likely to repeat in the future, considering qualitative and quantitative information.