What a Difference a Month – December 2018

Makes Historically, the month of December has delivered strong and consistently positive returns. The terms, “Santa Clause rally” and “December Effect,” are common names for this anomalous calendar effect. However, at the time of this writing the S&P 500 index is down approximately 15% month-to- date. This puts the US stock market on pace for…

October 2018

The US stock market has fallen into correction territory, defined as a 10% or greater decline from recent highs. The correction began this month, suddenly. Thus, it has been a quick and sharp move down, the biggest monthly decline since 2009. Our clients’ portfolios have suffered declines this month but have fared better on a…

The economy, stupid – September 2018

“The economy, stupid” -James Carville, 1992 presidential campaign In June President Trump tweeted, “In many ways this is the greatest economy in the HISTORY of America….” Hyperbole aside, the US economy has been strong. For the 2nd quarter, GDP growth registered 4.2%, the strongest rate of growth in almost four years. Fiscal stimulus measures (tax…