December Monthly Recap

by Nathan Behan, CFA, CAIA on
December closed out a terrible fourth quarter, as concerns over slowing economic growth, rising borrowing costs, global trade tensions, and uncertainty around the change in control of the US House of Representatives all pushed investors to reconsider the risk in their portfolios and forced
Investors are wondering what in the world is going on with the stock markets that have turned the holidays into a sea of red?  And we’re not talking about Santa’s coat or the color of your holiday light display; rather it’s the stream of red ticker tape on Wall Street!  This holiday season has come and gone with investors’ agonizing over witnessing the stock market careen around like a ship in troubled waters. 

A Nation Divided

by Advisor Websites_2 on

Last week’s midterm elections ended total Republican control in Washington , as the Democrats regained control of the House of Representatives. With some significant help from a skewed Senate map, in which Democrats and their allies had to defend 26 seats against the Republicans’  nine, Republicans...

October Monthly Recap

by Advisor Websites_2 on

The domestic equity markets fell sharply in October amidst high volatility, with big swings day to day, and in some cases, intraday. After leading the way up over the last six months, the growth indices led the way down in the reversal, driven by steep losses in the largest technology names, such as...

Value, Soon To Be In Vogue?

by Advisor Websites_2 on

Investors continuously look for an edge, seeking to maximize returns relative to risks. Favored strategies change cyclically, or trend during certain market environments, but one has always been in style: value investing. Value investors attempt to find underpriced stocks relative to fundamentals...

October has stayed true to the historical trend of being the most volatile month for stocks, with choppiness creeping in, the equity market tanking, and the S&P 500 Index dropping by more than 3% last Wednesday, October 10. The sudden spike in the longer end of the curve beginning mid-September is...

August Monthly Recap

by Advisor Websites_2 on

The domestic equity market continued to roll right along in August, driven by the Information Technology, Health Care, and Consumer Discretionary sectors. Given the much higher representation of these sectors in the growth indices, it is no surprise that growth outperformed value across the market...

Digital Oil & Hyperinflation in Venezuela

by Advisor Websites_2 on

Although the cryptocurrency market may not be snagging headlines to the degree it did in late 2017 and early 2018, Venezuela, formerly Latin America’s richest country, has fallen into an economic downward spiral, and now is looking at the crypto market as a source of “de-risking” its economy. This...

Contagions in Emerging Markets

by Advisor Websites_2 on

Emerging markets stocks have declined significantly thus far in 2018, after a solid rally last year that led to the asset class’s best return since 2009. After reaching highs in late January, the space has slumped nearly 20%, stoking fears of further downside and potential contagion. The sharp...