Putting politics aside
We live in red or blue states; we tune into liberal or conservative media outlets; our President is either Making America Great Again or an existential threat to our Republic; on it goes. Yet, consider how policymakers—including House Speaker Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader McConnell, and…
Vlog: Quarter-end Q&A 1Q2020
Tim Holland, CFA, Global Investment Strategist, asks and answers three top-of-mind questions as investors receive their quarterly statements and reflect on the past quarter: Have we seen the bottom in the stock market? Have the Federal Reserve and the Federal Government done enough in response…
Getting back to even
US equities have rallied sharply the past few weeks, with the S&P 500 Index (S&P 500) now 27% above its March 23 intra-day low of 2,189. We believe the March 23 low will— in hindsight—prove to be the low for this market cycle. What we…
What could go right
Someone somewhere was the first to say, “Hope is not a strategy.” Now, that is true in all walks of life, but especially in investing. You can’t hope the market will go up. You can’t hope your portfolio will provide an adequate rate of return….
Markets are often volatile to the upside!
Think about what we’ve come to grips with over the past few weeks: the US economy faces an unprecedented, pandemic driven demand shock; the US Federal Reserve is engaged in a level of monetary policy support and liquidity creation unlike anything in its history; the…
A bear market bottom checklist
A bear market bottom has historically been marked by several economic and market signposts, including depressed investor sentiment, widening credit spreads and a policy response to the systemic shock facing the country. More importantly, as we try to identify when we might hit a bottom…
What might H.E.L.P. now
Clearly, the markets could use some help right now, and fortunately, we do think help is on its way. Until then, if we want an easy way to recall what we see as four meaningful pillars of support for the markets going forward, we simply…
A 30 year perspective, and a bit more perspective on the 30-year mortgage
Adopting a long-term view on investing and the markets is needed most when it is difficult to do—like right now, when stocks are extremely volatile and under pressure as investors try to determine how COVID-19 and this year’s election will ultimately impact corporate and consumer…
One thing we shouldn’t be stressed about
Last week was an exceptionally difficult week for risk assets, emphasized by Thursday’s record 1,192 point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average – a selloff sparked by growing concern that the Coronavirus could prove to carry a greater weight on global growth than originally…
As goes January, so goes the year. Not so fast.
The stock market is a fascinating place. It’s where capital meets ideas and risk says hello to reward. It’s also where millions of investors decide the value of thousands of publicly traded companies, and in so doing not only set the price for individual securities…