The golden age of fixed income is over. That means we have to rethink portfolio management and risk control. : The days when investors could rely on traditional bonds as safe, income-producing securities that hedge equity risk and deliver returns that keep pace with inflation are finished. While it may not have felt like it, long-term investors had it pretty easy over the last 90-plus years. A diversified portfolio of 60% stocks and 40% high-quality bonds yielded a 9.0% annualized return between 1926 and 2019.1 Source: Dimensional Fund Advisors.