Market Commentary | Willow Creek Wealth Management

Market Commentary: Winter 2021 – The Year of the Unexpected

January 20, 2021 Willow Creek Wealth Management

2020: The Year of the Unexpected At the beginning of 2020, the outlook for the economy and the stock markets seemed promising. The US stock market was amid its longest bull run ever (almost 11 years), the economy was growing, and unemployment was low. Interest rates were on the rise – the benchmark 10-year US […]

Market Commentary: Fall 2020 – The Market’s Amazing Recovery

October 20, 2020 Willow Creek Wealth Management

A LOOK UNDER THE HOOD OF THE US MARKET – AND ITS AMAZING RECOVERY If you were to look at the stock market, one would have a sense the American Economy is having a great year: The S&P 500 index, the most widely followed measure of how large companies are performing in the United States, […]

Market Commentary: Summer 2020 – Volatile Stocks

July 22, 2020 Willow Creek Wealth Management

VOLATILE STOCKS AND THEIR RECOVERY The past two quarters have been among the most volatile on record for stocks. The benchmark S&P 500 declined by 19.6% in the first quarter, and then, in a surprising turnaround, went up by 20.5% in the second quarter. We often suggest to clients that during times of market stress […]

Market Commentary: Spring 2020 – The CARES Act

April 15, 2020 Willow Creek Wealth Management

The CARES Act The following is a summary of major provisions of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security “CARES” Act. The Act is a complex piece of legislation and it covers many areas; our focus will be on how it impacts individuals. We would welcome speaking to you about it and if it might […]

Market Commentary: Winter 2019 – The Difference in a Decade

January 15, 2020 Willow Creek Wealth Management

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DECADE MAKES At the end of 2019, the S&P 500 Index (which is comprised of a mix of 500 US large company stocks) was ascendant, with an average annualized return of +11.2% over the past ten years, and it finished 2019 with a one-year return of +31.5%. It was the best […]

Market Commentary: Fall 2019 – A Tale of Two Decades

October 15, 2019 Willow Creek Wealth Management

A Tale of Two Decades: Lessons for Long Term Investors The first decade of the 21st century, and the second one that’s drawing to a close, have reinforced for investors some timeless market lessons: returns can vary sharply from one period to another; holding a broadly diversified portfolio can help smooth out the swings; and, […]

Market Commentary: Summer 2019 – the Value Premium

July 16, 2019 Willow Creek Wealth Management

WILLOW CREEK AND THE VALUE PREMIUM Willow Creek Wealth Management adheres to a disciplined, evidence-based approach to our investing. One of the core elements to this approach is the conviction that value stocks (think companies that are currently out of style with the market) will generate higher returns than growth stocks (companies that are seen […]

Market Commentary: Spring 2019 – Lottery Odds

April 16, 2019 Willow Creek Wealth Management

LOTTERY WINNINGS At the end of the last quarter, it was announced that one lucky ticket holder had won a $768 million Powerball Lottery. In an instant that person’s life changed – if they received the lump sum payout (which is usually the right thing to do in these situations), they would get $477 million […]

Market Commentary: Winter 2018 – Control What You Can

January 11, 2019 Willow Creek Wealth Management

THE WILLOW CREEK PORTFOLIO: The US Market and Beyond As US-based investors, it is hard not to focus on the US stock market and think that it should be the sum of your returns: your portfolio should be up when the S&P 500 index is up and down when it is down. Sometimes that is […]

Market Commentary: Fall 2018 – Perception v. Reality

October 12, 2018 Willow Creek Wealth Management

DIVERSIFICATION – WHERE’S THE BENEFIT As the financial media shouts, “Stocks soar to new highs,” and promotes the strong performance of the S&P 500 or the Dow Jones Index, investors may be asking “Where are my investment returns?” So far, 2018 has proven to be a year when all asset classes other than US Large […]

Category: Market Commentary