Monthly Insights

Monday, March 9 is the sixth anniversary of the S&P 500 hitting bottom after dropping over 57% from peak-to-trough over the previous 17 months.  In other words, from October 2007 to March 2009 the market dropped 57% and then for no reason anyone can identify and at a time no one expected the fall ended.  Just like that, it was over.  On that day, the S&P 500 closed at 676.53.  The very next day, it was up 6.4%.  At the end of...

The January Barometer Historically, the S&P 500 performance in the first month of the year has an 88% chance of indicating where the index will end the year, according to Stock Trader’s Almanac. Since 1950 there have been only 8 years the trend didn’t hold. Although the “January Barometer” has had a strong success rate over the last sixty years, it has not proved to be a good predictor three of the last six years. Thus, you had a...

Since January 2, we have received a deluge of “annual updates” showing where folks should have invested last year.  Just when some of us are starting a new year filled with confidence, hope, and faith in a new year, and maybe with passion for new resolutions, we now read how obvious it was a year ago that we should have been invested in just these two or three future top performers.  What is it they say about hindsight?...