With all the benchmarks we follow currently at or near record highs – coupled with US political concerns, interest rate uncertainty, and major global conflicts – clients have raised some big questions. How do we, as investors, reconcile a soaring stock market with such negative world news? Will the markets continue to rise to even greater heights despite so much turmoil? Unfortunately, the answers to these questions are simply unknowable. There is good news though: as a diversified investor, your portfolio has been carefully crafted to adapt to whatever may be on the horizon.
With the 2024 US presidential election on the horizon, many investors are understandably concerned about how the outcome might affect their portfolios. Given the polarized political climate where both sides see the other as a threat to the nation’s future, it's only natural to wonder how your investments will fare. However, history shows us that a disciplined, long-term investment strategy will weather the storms of political change.
The S&P 500 Index has posted exceptional returns for the past two quarters. It turns out that the most striking contributor has been the dominance of the seven largest stocks in the US: the so-called “Magnificent 7”. These companies alone made up 33% of the total value of the S&P 500 as of the end of March. It’s at this point many investors may question the validity of a more diversified approach: why settle for 6% returns when, if you just picked the right stocks, your returns could be much higher? The simple answer is that it’s harder than you might think.
Towards the end of each year, it is common to see financial forecasts being issued for the year ahead. Market analysts and financial pundits put forth estimates of where the market will end the year and how the economy will perform.
For most of us, our lives generally follow a predictable path. If we are lucky, we enjoy good health as we age, and those years can be truly wonderful. However, there may come a time when illness or injury disrupts this trajectory. While some may experience only a brief setback, others may endure the lingering effects for years.
Sometimes it can be difficult to remain a disciplined investor. Over periods of time, a diversified buy-hold-rebalance strategy can seem like it is not performing as well as it should, especially when we see some other “hot investment” making headlines. It can lead us to wonder if we may be missing out on some new and lucrative investment trend.
