# Your Stock Portfolio Soared on Cheap Market Risk — But the Easy Money Is Over.

1 Opinion March 27, 2026By Richard Berner

Stern in the News ![Richard Berner headshot](/sites/default/files/styles/246w/public/assets/images/Richard%20Berner%20230x260.png?itok=CVwAgNja)The Iran conflict underscores a growing risk for investors: With the end of globalization, prices for stocks, bonds and other assets will increasingly be determined by geography, security considerations and geopolitical alignment. The rules that underpinned financial-market stability in the past aren’t guaranteed anymore.

For an example, look no further than the yawning gap in the spread between Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude oil. Global oil prices even after the Iran conflict ends are likely to carry a security-risk premium now that chokepoints and fragilities — such as the Strait of Hormuz, the gateway for about a fifth of the world’s shipped oil — have been revealed. The urgency to make energy supply chains more resilient across the globe will be an overriding priority.

Read the full [*MarketWatch* article](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/your-portfolio-soared-on-cheap-risk-but-thats-over-now-ba4b52d4).
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*Richard Berner is Clinical Professor of Finance and Professor of Management Practice and Co-Director of The Volatility and Risk Institute.*

## More from Richard Berner

- [Mitigating the Risk of Runs on Uninsured Deposits: the Minimum Balance at Risk.](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/faculty-research/mitigating-risk-runs-uninsured-deposits-minimum-balance-risk)
- [Financial Stability: Still Unfinished Business.](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/faculty-research/financial-stability-still-unfinished-business)
- [Russian Sanctions: Some Questions and Answers](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/faculty-research/russian-sanctions-some-questions-and-answers)
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- [Here’s How the SEC Should Decide if Companies Should Report Earnings only Every 6 Months](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/faculty-research/here-s-how-sec-should-decide-if-companies-should-report-earnings-only-every-6-months)