The rising protection costs and elevated volatility serve as a clear reminder: retirees cannot afford accumulation-era thinking in a decumulation-era world.
Through the second half of 2025, markets have delivered a curious mix of surface tranquillity and instability beneath. August brought low index volatility alongside rising single-stock dispersion. September reinforced this divergence as concentration risk increased. October saw option markets quietly reprice protection even as headline indices stayed calm.
Now, November has pushed these undercurrents into clearer focus. Risk pricing has firmed, stock price movements have become more erratic, and a modest downside bias has emerged.
