Insights

September 24, 2019
In a continuation of the first quarter rally, both global stocks and bonds registered positive returns in the second quarter. In the U.S., the S&P 500 rose 4.3%. The Russell 2000, which measures the performance of smaller company stocks, increased 2.1%. Abroad, developed market stocks outperformed emerging market stocks.
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September 23, 2019
After a difficult 2018, a year in which nothing really worked from an investment perspective, 2019 has started off as a year in which everything has worked. Stocks rebounded off of their December lows during the first quarter of 2019. The S&P 500 returned 13.65%. This represents the largest quarterly gain since 2009.
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September 22, 2019
The fourth quarter of 2018 was negative for global stocks. In the U.S., the S&P 500 sank 13.5% for the quarter, erasing the year’s gains. Growth oriented stocks generally fell harder than more value-oriented names; however, both were down over 10%. Smaller companies in the U.S. did particularly poorly. The Russell 2000 declined 20.2% and ended the year down 11%.
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September 21, 2019
The third quarter of 2018 saw continued strong results for large cap U.S. stocks. The S&P 500 gained 7.7%. Smaller companies were positive as well, with the Russell 2000 returning 3.6%.
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September 20, 2019
The second quarter of 2018 saw mixed returns across asset classes. The S&P 500 returned 3.4%. Within the US equity market, small companies outperformed larger companies with the Russell 2000 returning 7.7% for the quarter. Looking abroad, developed market stocks increased by 3.5% in their local currencies.
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September 19, 2019
Volatility is back. The first quarter of 2018 reminded investors that markets do not always go up, and that high valuations can make markets more sensitive to bad news. January returns were strong, picking up right where 2017 left off.
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2017 was another stellar year for stocks as prices around the world increased. The media seemed to constantly report record highs domestically with the S&P 500 index increasing 21.8% for the year. Internationally, stocks also performed well, gaining 27.2%. Ultimately, 2017 will go down as a year of strong returns and exceptionally low volatility.
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September 18, 2019
The third quarter of 2017 continued to be positive for financial markets with the S&P 500 returning 4.5% for the quarter. Small cap stocks outperformed larger companies for the first time this year, but only after a loss of over 6% from the highs. The impressive recovery was stoked by optimism over corporate tax reform in the United States.
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September 17, 2019
Stock and bond indices increased further during the second quarter of 2017. Non-U.S. stocks continued to outperform U.S. stocks. The MSCI ACWI Ex USA, a broad based international index, returned 5.8% for the quarter. Domestic stocks also showed positive performance as the S&P 500 increased 3.1%.
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September 16, 2019
President Trump’s first two months in office dominated the news flow in the first quarter. The S&P 500 returned 6.1% for the quarter as both earnings estimates and valuations increased. As we cautioned in our last review, small cap stocks are quite expensive by historic standards and performed poorly relative to larger companies returning only 2.5% over the same period.
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