In July of 1969, the world watched in amazement as Apollo 11 delivered Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the moon’s rocky surface. The achievement of something once thought so unattainable is what makes “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” such a memorable quote. Roughly forty years later, it’s with similar wonder that we’ve witnessed a tremendous… Read More

When we last wrote in this space, we referenced the market’s improved ability to digest economic data, and a willingness on the part of investors to wade further into the risk pool. Credit markets had stabilized materially from crisis levels and equity benchmarks worldwide were approaching official bull market territory. With the S&P 500 posting a total return of 15.9%,… Read More

In the six quarters since we began writing these summaries, there’s been little opportunity to mention bull markets. Indeed, with the S&P 500 falling another 11.0% to start 2009, and the included statements likely reflecting still lower valuations, you may be thinking it’s odd to even use such a phrase to describe the recent investing landscape. However, if you’ll read… Read More

In this very piece a year ago we assured you that 2008 would be an “adventure”. Given the events that unfolded, we doubt that anyone could now question the accuracy of that prediction. That said, being able to forecast adventurous times ahead is much different than knowing the future. In the following paragraphs, we’ve borrowed portions of a Top 10… Read More

While we did not enter the quarter expecting sleepy summertime markets, we surely wouldn’t have predicted or even imagined the scenarios that unfolded. By the end of September, we had witnessed several historic events: the government’s intervention with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and AIG; failures at Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual; two shotgun mergers that forced both Merrill Lynch and Wachovia into… Read More