It was a wild ride in the markets during the third quarter. The S&P 500 finished the quarter relatively flat, with a +1.1% total return, which was pretty respectable given the volatility caused by Fed fears and international headwinds. However, domestic mid-caps and small caps did not fare as well, at -1.7% and -7.4%, respectively…. Read More

Equity markets started off slowly in the second quarter (S&P 500 was flat for the quarter until May 20th), but ended up accelerating their overall advance from the first quarter, finishing the quarter +4.7% (+5.2% including dividends). Large and mid-sized companies continued to outperform smaller ones, while value outperformed growth. Following a brutal winter, which… Read More

At a summary glance, the first quarter of 2014 looks a bit boring. The S&P 500 finished the quarter up 1.3% (+1.8% total return, including dividends) with the bond market (represented by the Barclays Aggregate Bond Index) posting a total return of 1.8%. During those 90 days, plenty of surprises awaited investors. March 9, 2009   … Read More

Some years are boring. Everything works more or less like you expect. The year 2013 was not one of those. As you review the enclosed results, it will become quickly obvious that the equity markets in the United States and other developed nations around the world posted one of the best top-tobottom results of the last 20 years. Both the S&P 500 and… Read More

I think we’ve seen this play before. It is at the same time partially fictitious and partly self-fulfilling. If we didn’t know the 3rd Quarter results, we’d likely feel that the political drama was crushing the economy and markets. It hasn’t and this is not inconsistent with the prior 17 times the government “shut down” or experienced “funding gaps” since 1976. The… Read More