Published September 3, 2021
Below is an overview of the seasonal patterns of the stock market. This review from VantagePoint overlays 15 and 37-year charts to identify periods of strength and weakness. Every year is unique, of course, but there are general tendencies as the oft-noted “sell in May” reflects. Seasonality does not play a role in our models. But, as students of market data and history, we do find it interesting to be aware of.
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Published September 3, 2021
The S&P 500 has spent ten straight months above its 50-day moving average, one of history’s longest stretches of calm. Ultra-low interest rates from an extremely cautious and accommodative Federal Reserve have supported risk-taking investors by keeping the cost of money near zero. Very strong corporate earnings have rewarded investors by expanding the ‘E’ in the P/E ratio, justifying the market’s run upward. (more…)
Published August 27, 2021
We have written often in recent weeks about how extended the market seems to be. Some of this content has come from Schwab. Back in the late 1990s, Schwab notified clients more than once that the market’s valuation was excessive and to be careful. Similarly, they have been proactively warning this summer of higher-than-normal market valuations and a market ripe for some downside action. There are notable differences between now and the late 1990s. (more…)
Published August 20, 2021
The following content from MarketWatch highlights the reason why we are model-driven investors. It is all too easy to get caught up in speculation about what markets “should do” and let that drive our investment decisions. We find it far more productive for our money to row with the market’s price trend, recognizing that market prices move up as well as down, and allowing ourselves the flexibility to pursue gains regardless of market price direction.
Published August 13, 2021
The stock market continues to trade in a relatively quiet manner waiting for the next piece of information that will provide a jolt to push stocks one direction or the other. While we wait, we take this opportunity to review a fundamental financial planning concept – the beauty of the Roth IRA. (more…)
Published August 6, 2021
Below is an article from Schwab on the connection between earnings and the stock market.
“In what shaped up to be a very impressive first half of the year for both the economy and stock market, stellar earnings growth has been a key ingredient. Coming off stronger-than-expected S&P 500 earnings growth of 53% (year over year) in the first quarter, second-quarter earnings are currently anticipated to grow by 78%, the highest since 2009. That is well higher than the initial consensus estimate of 65%. (more…)
Published July 30, 2021
One of the interesting features of the stock market over the past year has been the tremendous rise in companies going public. This is coming after a long period where companies seemed very much to prefer staying in private hands. That sentiment has changed dramatically and pretty quickly, giving investors a plethora of new companies to consider. (more…)
Published July 23, 2021
We thought a recent article by David Keller on the various types of market corrections might be of interest. Here it is with some recast charts we provide to assist:
“As the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indexes have pounded away at new all-time highs basically every month in 2021, investors are left to wonder when a correction may actually be coming. We were taught that markets do not just go straight up, but instead they move in a series of impulse moves and corrective reactions as the overall trend continues. But 2021 has very much been the exception to that rule of market trends! (more…)
Published July 16, 2021
The stock market is in the midst of a correction, a pullback in price. With broad market indexes hitting new highs, this assertion sounds clearly wrong. However, look under the surface of those indexes and most stocks are going nowhere, with a sizeable chunk of them declining. (more…)
Passive investing involves buying index ETFs or funds of varying asset classes in some predetermined target mix, such as 60% of a portfolio invested in stocks and 40% in bonds. The investor focuses on buying this portfolio at the lowest possible costs, holding the ETFs/funds indefinitely while occasionally making minor adjustments to keep the portfolio near its target mix. The challenge in following a passive investment approach is setting aside our emotional response to a market under severe pressure. Seeing your account balance dropping 20% is difficult for most of us to stomach. We believe investors do not have to suffer through those gut-wrenching declines. (more…)