Markets continue to be noisy this week – as they digest market jitters at the end of last week (when the SPX fell by the most in one week – 1.6%, since October, and lost…
Following 2023’s sweeping comeback performance, 2024 wanted a piece of the action. It was a quarter of warm springs and chill winds from the Middle East and Russia/Ukraine. Japan continued to rise, while China continued…
Aoifinn Devitt, Chief Global Market Strategist Coming off of the usual post-Oscars drama, the real original screenplays kicked off mid-week with inflation numbers and a concern that 2024 is already getting too hot to handle.…
Aoifinn Devitt, Chief Global Market Strategist Maybe it is because it is an election year, but we still have China on our minds. Despite the fact that China continues its decline on the global market…
Chris Kamykowski, CFA, CFP® – Head of Investment Strategy and Research Early 2024 has seen all-time highs in the equity markets seem as frequent as Taylor Swift sightings at Kansas City Chiefs’ football games. Multiple…
Aoifinn Devitt, Chief Global Market Strategist Better than expected. It has been a bit of a mantra for the year so far – better economic growth, better trend of inflation, a better outlook for jobs…
By Aoifinn Devitt, Chief Global Market Strategist “Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.” Lyndon B. Johnson In this election year we probably also have politics, and stump…
Download Recap PDF MONTHLY OBSERVATIONS Mixed Bag of Returns to Start 2024 On the positive side, U.S. economic data continued to point to strength in the underlying growth trajectory. That said, markets expectations for rate…
By Aoifinn Devitt, Chief Global Investment Strategist While the jobs numbers last week led to euphoria in markets, this week saw a little bit of buyers’ remorse – albeit selective. Earnings are on a positive…
Chris Kamykowski, CFA, CFP® – Head of Investment Strategy and Research Tim Side, CFA – Investment Strategist We are a far cry from 2022’s mid-term elections when investors were hit with four-decade high inflation levels,…
By Aoifinn Devitt, CFP® – Chief Investment Officer Here in Chicago Thanksgiving was sunny but brisk. Now it is just very brisk. It is a reminder that winter – albeit delayed – comes around after all. The…
By Aoifinn Devitt, CFP® – Chief Investment Officer As the holidays approach, there is a miracle in the air. But not the usual festive kind. Consumers were already starting to expect lower inflation – and Tuesday’s CPI…
Investment Team Click here to download the PDF Monthly Observations No Calendar Effect This Time October was a challenging month for investors as both stocks and bonds fell lower. While markets initially looked through the…
By Aoifinn Devitt, CFP® – Chief Investment Officer October turned out to be a little spooky after all. The month launched somewhat unsteadily, reeling from a “September effect” which did exactly what it said on the tin…
By Aoifinn Devitt, CFP® – Chief Investment Officer Many of our clients have read this recent article in the Wall Street Journal and have asked us to respond. It cites the banner performance of the traditional 60/40…
By Aoifinn Devitt, CFP® – Chief Investment Officer It’s cooling down outside now, but earnings season is heating up. As expected the outlooks are looking warm and cozy, at least so far, with a wide range of…
By Aoifinn Devitt, CFP® – Chief Investment Officer The quarter started with a bang but ended with a whimper, as a surging stock market in July was cut short by a more subdued month of August and…
By Aoifinn Devitt, CFP® – Chief Investment Officer Temperatures are dropping, leaves are turning and everywhere there is a chill in the air. The tragic events playing out on the geopolitical stage, now in the Middle East,…
Tim Side, CFA® – Investment Strategist Rick Bettger – Investment Research Analyst Click here to download the PDF Monthly Observations September Lives Up to Long-Term Reputation September has the reputation as the worst performing month of…
By Aoifinn Devitt, CFP® – Chief Investment Officer The end of Q3 is upon us and September has proven to be a month of transition. We have transitioned into a little more edginess in markets, as inflation…
Mark Webster, CFA – Senior Investment Research Analyst Chris Kamykowski, CFA, CFP® – Head of Investment Strategy and Research The last decade has not been kind to those arguing for active management within investment portfolios,…
By Aoifinn Devitt, CFP® – Chief Investment Officer Just as the weather started to cool down, inflation has been picking up. The latest inflation figures released this week showed a small uptick in month-on-month inflation, largely attributable…
By Aoifinn Devitt, CFP® – Chief Investment Officer It must be mid-August because the Halloween candy and costumes have hit the store aisles. Like corporations and their earnings stores have become adept at telegraphing activity like holidays…