We recently ran across on article on wealthmanagement.com that we thought would be timely. They, as have we, observed and increase in concern over the stock market's value (we've also encountered this concern in relation to the bond market). "Lately, we have seen an uptick in investors who express concern that stock valuations are overheated and could soon spill into bubble territory. This is predictable, thanks to markets surpassing one benchmark after another in recent months—a surge that, … View More
August was a choppy, but essentially flat month for the markets. The price return of the S&P 500 was -0.19%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was -0.07%, and the Nasdaq’s price return was 1.59%. The Barclays Aggregate Bond Index was up about 0.67%. As for volatility in the markets, the VIX hit its year-to-date high on August 11th, climbing nearly 70% higher than where it started the month. Much of the increase in the VIX can be attributed to the tensions with North Korea, and certainly som… View More
Our hearts go out to the families affected by the devastation of Hurricane Harvey. The American spirit is alive and well as was demonstrated to us in last week’s search and rescue of the flooded areas. We wish all of our neighbors in Texas and Louisiana a speedy recovery. Stocks rose last week on generally upbeat economic data and elevated expectations for tax reform, even as Hurricane Harvey inflicted major damage throughout Texas and Louisiana (more on this below). The September employment … View More
Last week, a broad market rally led by small cap stocks followed the previous week’s selloff. The Russell 2000® Index rose 1.45% while the other major indices also gained (the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.64%; S&P 500® Index rose 0.72% and the NASDAQ gained 0.79%). As expected, trading volumes remained low. The annual conference of central bankers in Jackson Hole garnered attention although the meeting did not reveal any notable changes in Fed monetary policy. Chair Yellen s… View More
Markets declined modestly in relatively light trading last week as political events continued to dominate headlines. Conservative areas of the market, including large cap stocks and Utility companies, outperformed while riskier areas of the market like small caps lagged. So far in the third quarter, the Russell 2000® Index of small companies (-3.9%) has significantly underperformed the large-cap dominated S&P 500® Index (+0.6%). Energy stocks also underperformed despite last week’s decli… View More