Last quarter was a phenomenal one by almost any standards for a wide range of risk assets in a large part of the globe. The S&P 500 climbed nearly 10% to post its biggest first-quarter gain since 2019. The benchmark index in late January hit its first record high in two years. From <https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/how-us-stock-market-rocketed-through-first-quarter-2024-03-28/> But markets are…
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20 years ago, I opened my first office as an Advisor in Bethlehem, PA. I still recall my first client, a young couple opening a college 529 account for their newborn child. The firm I was associated with was commission driven however, following the advice of my then mentor, I focused on the client relationship…
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Fed Chair Powell says the job market is still strong. Here’s what to know January is typically a big month for job losses, with seasonal workers being let go after the holidays and companies tightening their belts at the outset of a new year. That can make January jobs reporting among the trickiest to forecast. However, last month’s…
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Happy New Year!!! Can’t believe we are in 2024. How time flies!!! If we rewind the clock one year, analyst forecasted the following for 2023: “2023 will more than likely be a continuation” of 2022 … “and a cautious outlook seems prudent. … Moreover, cash will play a major role both for buying opportunities and…
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SummaryAs we began 2023, expectations for the U.S. economy were much gloomier than what has actually evolved in the first 11 months of the year. Stocks are on pace to close out 2023 on a strong note, as several major US market indexes recently set new highs for the year. However, the big story during…
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Over the weekend I drafted my monthly commentary and was about to post it until I read this article published by The Motley Fool on November 1. Long story short, though the S&P 500 has delivered a return of about 8.5% as of November 1, 2023, if you remove the following 7 companies from the…
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Hope your day is going well. Last month saw a very busy month. Not only did the markets continue its downward trend in performance, but I had the privilege of cross-country travel visiting clients on both coast. During that 2-week stint, I set out to inform clients of signals we are seeing that could disrupt…
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August has historically been a rough month for markets. This year proved no different as the stock rally ground to a halt. Stocks tumbled before paring back some of their losses, with Wall Street still trying to figure out when the Federal Reserve will end its long campaign of interest rate hikes. There were some…
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At the start of this year, Wall Street managers and analyst reported that 2023 would not be a great year to invest and investors should be defensive increasing their cash positions in lieu of expected volatility. BlackRock’s Chariman and CEO reported in the eve of 2023 that Investment Managers should throw out their investment playbook,…
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Now that we have reached the half-way point of the year, let’s review the last 6 months in the market. At the beginning of 2023, there was a prevailing sense of negativity as both the S&P 500 and bonds experienced significant double-digit losses. However, we argued that the smart investor should stay invested. We were…
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