Newsletters

SECURE 2.0 ACT - SOME KEY TAKEAWAYS In 2019 Congress passed the “The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act” which made major revisions to the existing rules around retirement savings. These changes included raising the age of required...

FED POLICY IN FOCUS Markets rallied for the second consecutive month in November as investors became increasingly optimistic that the   Federal Reserve would move to slow down their current pace of interest rate hikes in December. The chorus for a less...

MARKETS AND THE FED Markets rallied in October as investors became hopeful that the Federal Reserve would soon pivot and change its monetary policy approach. However, during the most recent FOMC meeting, Chairman Jerome Powell again increased the federal funds rate by...

CASH AND TREASURY BILLS We shifted portfolios to be more defensive during 2021 and that has continued throughout this year. As part of that defensive positioning, we have had an outsized position in cash, which we placed in T bills to generate some income. When we...

Markets The outlook for the U.S. economy brightened over the summer due to declining energy prices, steady consumer spending, and solid payroll growth. There was also a belief in the markets that the Federal Reserve would potentially ease up on the pace and magnitude...

Markets Heading into earnings season, investors were very concerned that company profits would fall short of expectations and that forward guidance could be meaningfully cut going forward. Bracing for underwhelming results, earnings came in better than expected with,...

Market Fall Further in June - Enter Bear Market Territory The S&P 500 Index closed June 2022 at 3,785.38, or 21.08% below its all-time closing high of 4,796.56 on 1/3/22, according to Bloomberg. By definition, this indicates that the index has entered into a “bear...

Markets Markets remained volatile over the last month as economic growth continues to remain resilient in the face of persistent inflation, tightening credit conditions, and price surges in energy and food commodities.      Consumer sentiment,...

Active Bond Management - Reducing Risk During the last several years we have shortened bond maturities across our bond portfolios. While this has meant lower income, it also meant our bond holdings were subject to much less interest rate risk when interest rates...

Bonds On Center Stage Bonds usually appear to play a supporting role in market events, while growth stocks and cryptocurrencies catch the spotlight. But the size of the bond market and the importance of its role in providing financing for growth cannot be...