Category: Weekly Investment Update

Volatility is the price investors pay for long-term wealth creation. Markets fluctuate, sometimes wildly, and this is the reason a person should never invest funds which will be needed in the immediate future in investments which trade in volatile public markets. The definition of immediate future is a personal one, which is why it is […]

Last week, Fed Chairman Powell confirmed the Fed’s future interest rate and balance sheet reduction decisions are not predetermined. Previous Fed boards and chairs have a spotty history of setting Fed policy, so some concern is understandable but current criticism seems excessive. We believe current FOMC members are at least as smart as the majority […]

This year’s stock market correction and increased volatility has monopolized the headlines and commentary leaving other important issues unaddressed. One of those topics is tax planning. The new standard deduction which is part of the 2018 tax law will increase the number of individuals and couples who will use the standard deduction. This change, by […]

Why do we constantly hear about investment time-horizons? Because, as the old saying goes, time in the market is a consistently effective approach to investing while timing the market is not a dependable strategy. It is impossible to know what the market is going to do. We can’t even agree on what the market has […]

The stock market correction stalled last week. One of two headwinds was eliminated when Fed Chairman, Jerome Powell, confirmed the members of the Federal Open Market Committee are not the ill-informed, mindless and stubborn group many self-serving market participants and commentators had declared them to be in recent weeks. The market gained 4.85%, as measured […]

Stock prices continue to churn, to put it kindly. By finishing Thanksgiving week 3.79% lower, the S&P 500 added another 10% correction (from the September 20th high) to the 2018 record book. The current negative mood may continue for a few more weeks and percentage points but at the moment, a bear market decline of […]

Treasury note yields pushed lower as investors raised allocations to what were deemed to be safer assets. The 10-year note yield ended the week 18 basis points lower at 3.06% and the 2-year note finished 12 basis points lower at a yield of 2.80%. Stocks were lower last week with the S&P 500 settling down […]

Although the S&P 500 finished 2.13% higher for the week, the correction’s presence continued to be felt with a decline of more than 1% in the final two days of the week. Fundamentals continue to be positive and the outlook for 2019 remains upbeat. Factset Research Systems Inc provides the following points from this season’s […]

An October Surprise is typically a phrase used in politics to describe an orchestrated event timed to be sprung in the weeks immediately preceding a November election. It is difficult to imagine a surprise this October which could have stood out among this year’s already overabundant supply of orchestrated political events. Instead, we will use […]

The S&P 500 finished the week down 3.94%, settling at 2,658.69. The index is 9.28% below the September 20th all-time high. The correction may well continue with the next test, an additional 3% lower to 2,581.00, its low close on February 8th at the bottom of this year’s earlier correction. Interest rates have done little […]