At the beginning of last year, I wrote that 2023 will be remembered as a banner year. I could say the same for 2024. Markets rallied once again; however, this past year differs from 2023 in one important way...
Markets continued their banner year in Q3, albeit with some bumps and major rotations. Noticeably, investors preferred small-cap, mid-cap, and emerging market stocks over the dominant force of the “big US tech” stocks...
I often field this question from clients around election season. I find that everyone has different motivations for it, as well. Some clients are understandably concerned about their retirement savings being negatively affected by a change (or sometimes a continuation) in leadership. However, almost equally, other people are excited about the growth opportunities and policy changes that a presidential election could bring.
Domestic large and mid-sized companies led total returns in the last twelve months and through the initial two quarters of 2024 (although emerging markets were about 1.6% higher than mid-sized companies on a year-to-date basis). Large companies generated a positive total return in the second quarter with mid-size and small companies contracting a couple percent, but on a year-to-date basis all three categories have generated positive total returns...
Many moons ago, I was a Personal Finance Planning major at Central Michigan University. I distinctly remember in the Spring of 2012, my finance class had a competition amongst my peers to see who could make the most money in a trading simulation system. At the time, gold was trading at all-time highs. It was the “hot” asset class that was outperforming everything else. The code was cracked (buy gold), and I was destined to be the top performer. Alas, it was not to be, but it got me thinking. With all of the recent headlines of gold hitting all-time highs and the infatuation from the consumer: Is gold really an asset class for the long term?
For many years, market participants have been closely following every statement made by the Federal Reserve Chairperson and every data point used by the Fed to guide its decisions. However, it has become increasingly tiresome. While monetary policy, including interest rates, is undeniably important, the daily fluctuations caused by inflation reports and their potential influence on the Fed's interest rate decisions have become excessive...
When we look back at 2023, we’ll remember it as a banner year for markets. Stocks were up across the board and even bonds produced a solid return. A rough 3rd quarter that led to a rally in November and December pulled markets ahead for a fantastic finish to 2023.
It's many folks' favorite season! Fall brings apple cider, donuts, football, and of particular importance to the Carter family- hunting season. The changing of the seasons on the calendar mirrors the changing of the figurative seasons we have witnessed here at FSG.