Mike Bostock has revolutionized visualization with his d3 and his seemingly infinite examples. In another adaptation of his amazing work, I will adapt one of my favorite examples to supplement the interactive scatterplot with data supplied by R through Shiny. Often in finance, we will use a scatterplot to explore the relationship between different asset classes or risk exposures. This exploration becomes much more deep and meaningful when we can interact in real-time with the plot.
I thought using the technique to look at the monthly returns of Vanguard funds representing different exposures would be helpful. A clear linear relationship immediately shows up between the equity funds (VFINX-Vanguard S&P 500, VDMIX-Vanguard Developed Markets, and VEIEX-Vanguard Emerging Markets). Also, we can see the very beneficial effect of VBMFX-Vanguard Total US Bond throughout what we know was a tumultuous period.