“Confusing risk with volatility can be dangerous,” says a recent report by Greenline Partners, as it “can lead to seeing things that do not exist.” This according to an article published this past May in Chief Investment Officer.

Greenline, the article states, found that low-vol strategies outperformed the index by nearly 1%-2% annually over the last 50 years, but two-thirds of this period coincided with falling rates. A recent report published by the asset management firm said, “We think this environment gave low-volatility investing a tailwind that will likely not repeat going forward.”

Future return expectations should be discounted “especially if interest rates were to rise,” warns Greenline. “Investors wanting lower-volatility equities,” they said, “may find lower cost, more transparency, and superior performance with bond-like sector ETFs.”