Over the past two days, we have had the first sell-off in quite a while. With the Dow falling more than 500 points, is it time to stock up on canned goods and supplies? I don’t think so.
January 31, 2018
Over the past two days, we have had the first sell-off in quite a while. With the Dow falling more than 500 points, is it time to stock up on canned goods and supplies? I don’t think so.
January 30, 2018
With President Trump scheduled to give the annual State of the Union address tonight, I thought it would be a good time to consider the economic state of the union. As usual, of course, I am going to pass on the politics and instead take a big-picture look at the economy.
January 25, 2018
When investors look at their final statements at year-end, there is bound to be lots of discussion about how their portfolios performed. And, as has become usual in the past couple of years, there will be questions about and comparisons between the U.S. stock indices and that performance. In other words, how can the Dow or the S&P be up by that much and I am “only” up by X?
January 11, 2018
I was thinking about demographics the other day, in the context of what they mean for economic growth over the next decade or so. One of the reasons growth has been so slow in recent years is simply because of the age mix of the population. Baby boomers are aging and retiring, so they are spending less. The rising millennial generation, on the other hand, has not yet hit its peak earning and spending years. As such, the drag from the boomers offsets the gain from the millennials. It will continue to do so for the next couple of years, but then that will change. The effect of demographics is one of the few things we really can know ahead of time in economics. We know who has been born—and when. After that, it is just a matter of counting.
January 4, 2018
Yesterday, I noted briefly that I would be “keeping an eye” on how long the good times last in the new year. It was one of those offhand comments that, once you think about it, really requires quite a bit more thought and analysis than at first glance. As an example, my dog is now barking like crazy at the snow. Why is he barking? I don’t know, and I suspect he doesn’t either. He just knows things are different and therefore worrying, and he wants to let his people know he’s on the job. My aim is to be at least slightly smarter than the dog here, so let’s lay the groundwork for what we will be watching in 2018.
January 3, 2018
Today’s post will be a quick note as I catch up after a couple of weeks out for the holidays.
December 29, 2017
As I’ve said many times before, I believe that gratitude is a foundation for both happiness and a mindful life. Every day, I write down at least three things I’m grateful for, a practice that is proven to increase well-being. Beyond that, I also try to make time every couple of months to really think through my life and all I have to be thankful for.
December 28, 2017
Today’s post comes from Anu Gaggar of Commonwealth’s Investment Research team. Take it away, Anu! —Brad
December 27, 2017
Today's post is from Peter Essele, manager of Commonwealth's Investment Management and Research team.
A little over a year ago, my colleague, Anu Gaggar, and I conducted a study for the Independent Market Observer. We examined the emerging markets and international asset classes through the lens of investor behaviors, noting at the time that many investors had shed these asset classes during 2016. They did so largely because they feared underperformance and higher volatility. We believed there could be negative consequences on portfolio returns from this decision, however, so we took a closer look.
Today, we're revisiting this topic to see whether investors have changed their minds since then, choosing to once again accept the risks of global diversification. And, if so, what might that mean for their portfolios going forward?
December 21, 2017
One of the questions we often get is whether people should invest in hedge funds. This question is more complicated than it seems. Today, Rob Kane will take a look at whether you can—or should—consider such investments. Commonwealth’s Research team provides this kind of expertise to advisors and clients, and I am happy to offer a sample of what we can do for an asset class that is so much in the news. Over to you, Rob.
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