Investments
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That pesky thing known as the Federal Reserve dashed some cold water on the Trump rally last week, as Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicated that they were in no hurry to cut rates further and…
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Tim Side, CFA – Investment Strategist Déjà vu? One week out from the election results and there is an oddly familiar feeling as markets are reacting in a very similar fashion to 2016. Republicans are…
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Monthly Observations Final Quarter Starts on a Weak Footing Third quarter upward momentum in risk markets carried through for most of October with US large cap equity markets grinding out further record highs to start…
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We sit here on Wednesday, November 6th, with one of the most expensive and dramatic Presidential campaigns behind us. Before we run through the data, results, reaction and implications for the markets, let’s savor a…
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As we digest the moment that a nation has been waiting for – there is one feeling that is universal – certainty. After many cycles of disputed elections, a decisive result brings closure, and US…
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What a quarter. The last three months were filled with historic events, including an incumbent dropping out of the presidential race for the first time in nearly 60 years, two failed assassination attempts on a…
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Monthly Observations Returns Buck the Trend for September Long-term seasonality suggests weaker returns in September and early signs indicated last month would be no different; a sharp drop in risk assets started the month following…
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“Time is the friend of the wonderful business, the enemy of the mediocre.” – Warren Buffett, Chairman & CEO Berkshire Hathaway EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Private Equity – Private equity deal activity surged in 2024, marking the…
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“Go Big or Go Home” The Fed decided to go big this month by cutting rates by 50 basis points – fulfilling the expectations of the betting market but defying those of most pundits who…
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Election years are notoriously turbulent, not only in the political arena but also across financial landscapes. The potential for a shift in leadership brings an air of uncertainty that permeates the economy, affecting everything from…
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Monthly Observations Early Carnage Followed by Sharp Recovery Multiple catalysts triggered sharp risk-off moves in the equity markets to start August. Weaker than expected payroll readings, a slowing manufacturing sector, and AI/technology earnings concerns prompted…
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Chris Kamykowski, CFA, CFP® – Head of Investment Strategy and ResearchTim Side, CFA – Investment Strategist “I fear no man. But that thing, it scares me.”[1] Ever since the compromise between Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson…
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Aoifinn Devitt – Chief Global Market Strategist In recent weeks the Land of the Rising Sun became the Land of the Rising Yen, and then the catalyst for a roller coaster swoon in markets followed…
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Monthly Observations Sharp Rotation in Market Leadership 2024 market laggards for the year were the winners in July as a wave of risk-on sentiment rewarded those left behind by large cap growth. The catalyst came…
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Chris Kamykowski, CFA, CFP® – Head of Investment Strategy and ResearchTim Side, CFA – Investment Strategist For those who believe in diversification, it has been a painful decade+ of relative returns between small cap and…
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Aoifinn Devitt – Chief Global Market Strategist An alternative title of this blog was “All changed, changed utterly.”, to paraphrase the poet W B Yeats. Using that quip seemed too easy, however. In my many…
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Markets cruised through the halfway point of 2024 and as we take stock of the year-to-date numbers, we find ourselves with the S&P 500 up 15.3%, the Nasdaq Composite Index up 18.6%, and the Dow…
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Chris Kamykowski, CFA, CFP® – Head of Investment Strategy and ResearchTim Side, CFA – Investment Strategist Monthly Observations Dispersion of Returns Highlights First Month of Summer The haves and have-nots were obvious in June as…
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Aoifinn Devitt – Chief Global Market Strategist Illinois is currently in the middle of a 17-year cicada brood which is overlapping with the normal emergence of a regular brood. The last time this brood emerged…
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Chris Kamykowski, CFA, CFP® – Head of Investment Strategy and ResearchTim Side, CFA – Investment Strategist Monthly Observations Markets Rebound Sharply Heading into Summer Markets rebuffed the adage of “sell in May and go away”,…
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Mark Webster, CFA – Senior Investment Research Analyst Artificial Intelligence (AI) is thriving these days to speed up analysis, sift through noisy information, create procedural efficiencies, and enable human workers to improve their productivity. Within…
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Aoifinn Devitt – Chief Global Market Strategist Have we now entered the antifragile era for markets? This concept, made popular by Nassim Taleb, loosely means something that benefits from chaos and volatility and is made…
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Monthly Observations Sharp Downdraft Upends Markets Markets were doused with a bit of seasonal April showers as an uptick in geopolitical drama, surprise to inflation trends, and a sharp change in interest rate expectations weighed…
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Tim Side, CFA – Investment StrategistChris Kamykowski, CFA, CFP® – Head of Investment Strategy and Research Early this year, January 11th to be exact, we received an email from our Fixed Income team following the…