Volatility has begun to pick up in equity markets as bond yields have continued to creep higher, based on fears of higher for longer inflationary pressures.  I’ve warned before about being too aggressive in this environment.  Too many people expect equity markets to perform like they did in exceptionally low interest rate periods and that...Read More

The S&P 500 is now down 25% YTD, which puts it in the top 10 worst selloffs historically.  What is particularly unique about this bear market is that bonds have offered no help whatsoever, generating massive losses as well.  Even conservative investment grade bonds are down by 22% YTD, when the previous biggest loss on...Read More

For those of you that have been reading this newsletter, you’ll know that we have been writing about why most bonds have made so little sense to invest in over the last few years, given the historically low yields and risks from higher rates and inflation, which has now come to fruition.  The average bond...Read More

Today the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 bps.  With inflation so high, it almost certainly would have been 50 bps if not for the concerns over the economy related to the impact of the Russian/Ukraine war, which is exasperating things materially.  There has been some very positive dialogue from both Ukraine and Russia...Read More

Yesterday’s CPI report showed prices up 7.9% YoY, which was the highest reading since 1982.  Even more concerning, this was before the impacts of the Russian/Ukraine war is reflected in the data.  Market volatility is exceptionally high and pessimism is quite pervasive.  There are legitimate fears that inflation in excess of wage growth could cause...Read More

  Interest rates are without a doubt one of the most important drivers of investment returns, if not the most significant.  Warren Buffett has mentioned in the past that there is almost a reverse gravitational impact of interest rates, in that lower rates tend to raise equity valuations.  Conversely, higher interest rates tend to pressure...Read More

Volatility has come back into the equity markets, driven by rapidly increasing Treasury yields.  In fact, since the vaccine data came out towards the end of last year, Treasury Bonds are down 27.7%, meaning yields are up.  This has coincided with value stocks and financials going on a massive rally and outperforming peers, after a...Read More

I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.  What a crazy year it has been.  Surely, these next few months will be historic as the vaccine rollout and distribution takes center stage.  It would seem that these combined with better treatments such as the Regeneron and Eli Lilly AB programs, should be able...Read More

As we retire or get closer to retirement, the need to generate investment income takes on a much greater importance.  Historically, it was much easier, as one could divert a larger portion of their stock portfolio into bonds, while capturing yields that might vary from 5-10%.  Those yields, combined with the nearly 40-year bull market...Read More

Well, that was one awful week that we just had, for much of the world, and certainly in financial markets.  I know I feel like I aged a decade this week.  The stock market has been increasingly worried about this Coronavirus over the last few weeks, leading to increased volatility and large selloffs.  This, combined...Read More