"Wipe Out" is an appropriate description of what is happening beneath the calm surface of the bull market.
As we head into the end of the year, many are hoping for "Santa to visit Broad and Wall." However, those hopes are not just about adding to this year's already excessive annual gains. Instead, for many, it's the hope to recover some brutal losses.
"Wipe Out" is an appropriate description of what is happening beneath the calm surface of the bull market.
As we head into the end of the year, many are hoping for "Santa to visit Broad and Wall." However, those hopes are not just about adding to this year's already excessive annual gains. Instead, for many, it's the hope to recover some brutal losses.
The year 2021 was a mixed bag of innovation, value vs. growth debates, equity recalibrations, high supply side inflation (stagflation), structurally challenged employment data, new virus variants and projected rate hikes. Going into the end of the year, the highly transmissible Omicron variant is roiling markets, overshadowing the Federal Reserve’s (“Fed”) policy guidance of rate hike to rein in inflation.
The year 2021 was a mixed bag of innovation, value vs. growth debates, equity recalibrations, high supply side inflation (stagflation), structurally challenged employment data, new virus variants and projected rate hikes. Going into the end of the year, the highly transmissible Omicron variant is roiling markets, overshadowing the Federal Reserve’s (“Fed”) policy guidance of rate hike to rein in inflation.
The market is disconnected from everything. Throughout history, there are correlations you would expect to hold constant between the market, consumer confidence, and the economy. Currently, after a decade of zero interest rate policy, massive amounts of liquidity, and financial supports, the market has become detached from reality.
October was marked by continued volatility across fixed income and equity markets as investors faced various challenges, including persistent inflation concerns, rising yields, tightening monetary policy, and the backdrop of a U.S. Presidential election.
As an investor, it’s nice to know what we should expect from President Trump, because we have seen the movie before in 2017 – 2021. Apart from the early part of the Pandemic period, the economy and stock markets generally performed well.
Remember, our investment in stocks is a De facto vote of confidence on the economies in which we invest. Earnings, revenue, margins, free cash flow, and the growth of these important metrics is what drives stocks up or down over time.
The discretionary sector struggled as did all growth and quality-oriented areas of the market in 2022. That was a classic re-set and a raging opportunity to add exposure.