Blog Market Commentary

2020 4th Quarter Commentary

By Matt Hargreaves / January 13, 2021 / Comments Off on 2020 4th Quarter Commentary

Market Summary A strong fourth quarter capped a wild and turbulent year. 2020 marked the largest reversal in the S&P 500’s history, rebounding over 70% from the March lows and finishing the year up over 18%. During the fourth quarter, the major indexes reached all-time highs as investors welcomed greater political clarity and positive news…

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2020 Third Quarter Commentary

By Matt Hargreaves / October 12, 2020 / Comments Off on 2020 Third Quarter Commentary

Market Summary Stocks continued their upward momentum in July and August as Growth stocks helped push the S&P 500 to new all-time highs before correcting in September. Despite the pullback, the S&P 500 returned nearly 9% for the quarter, pushing it into positive territory on the year, and over 50% from the March lows. Once…

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Election Season v. The Stock Market

By Matt Hargreaves / September 2, 2020 / Comments Off on Election Season v. The Stock Market

Election season can be a challenging time for investors to maintain a long-term perspective, given the strong emotions often evoked by politics. Campaign rhetoric tends to amplify negative and divisive issues. In particular, this election is unprecedented in modern times — marked by the combination of a deadly pandemic, a severe economic recession, widespread civil…

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2020 Second Quarter Commentary

By Matt Hargreaves / July 29, 2020 / Comments Off on 2020 Second Quarter Commentary

Market Summary The second quarter was nearly a mirror image of the first, as investors’ appetite for safety in the first quarter turned into an appetite for risk in the second quarter. The first quarter saw the fastest ever bear market – down 34% in 20 trading days – before recovering to finish down 20%…

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2020 1st Quarter Commentary

By Matt Hargreaves / April 15, 2020 / Comments Off on 2020 1st Quarter Commentary

  Market Summary The longest bull market in US history came to an end.  Global equities fell into bear market territory due to a worldwide pandemic. The year started well, but as fears about COVID-19 spread and it became clear that there was a severe global pandemic on hand, markets responded quickly and severely. The…

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Coronavirus Aid and Economic Security (CARES) Act Passes

By Ben Rickey / March 30, 2020 / Comments Off on Coronavirus Aid and Economic Security (CARES) Act Passes

The Coronavirus Aid and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law on March 27th.  While there are many details to work out in implementation, we wanted to run through a couple of the highlights with you.  We start with a few of the provisions that apply to everyone, including the rebate checks.  We follow…

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Commentary – Coronavirus 3.19.20

By Matt Hargreaves / March 20, 2020 / Comments Off on Commentary – Coronavirus 3.19.20

Our everyday lives have changed dramatically over the last few weeks as we work together to minimize the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. We know these efforts are necessary, but they also have come at a cost. Stocks have entered a bear market and a global recession seems almost certain as people stay home and…

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Coronavirus Fears Hit Markets

By Ben Rickey / February 24, 2020 / Comments Off on Coronavirus Fears Hit Markets

Coronavirus worries officially enter the market as pessimism has shifted from the impact on China to the outbreak to other countries, like South Korea, Italy and Iran amongst others. The market contracted over 3% today (so far). It is important to note that, although uncomfortable, big drops are normal.  S&P averages more than five 2% drops…

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2019 4th Quarter Commentary

By Matt Hargreaves / January 23, 2020 / Comments Off on 2019 4th Quarter Commentary

Market Summary Investor concerns around the trajectory of global growth, trade and monetary policy improved throughout 2019, leading to strong equity returns for the quarter and for the all of 2019. After steep declines in December 2018, the S&P 500 TR Index rose 9% during the quarter and 31.5% for all of 2019[1]. The gains…

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December Market Commentary

By Matt Hargreaves / December 19, 2019 / Comments Off on December Market Commentary

Hindsight is 20/20. Foresight Isn’t. The year 2019 served up many examples of the unpredictability of markets. Interest rates that US policy makers expected to rise fell instead. American consumers’ confidence weakened as the year began[i], and news headlines broadcast fears of an economic slowdown. Investors who moved onto the sidelines may have missed the gains…

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