The Markets After a negative first quarter, U.S. equities have officially recovered all of their losses from the market correction earlier this year. The S&P 500 Index, representing large-cap stocks, returned a modest 2.65% for the first half of the year. Its small cap counterparts, being the biggest beneficiary of the new tax bill and
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Despite an unusually strong start to 2018, the market gave back most of the gains by quarter-end. We experienced more volatility in the past few months than we have seen in the last eleven years although volatility of this magnitude is not unusual if we look back at the past market history. We have had
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It has been a wonderful year for both investment advisors and their clients. For us as your investment advisor, it has been a great year because it has allowed us to continue to help our clients achieve and maintain their goals and objectives. Our focus is not solely the accumulation of wealth; it is also
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The third quarter of 2017 continued to deliver steady growth across the equity markets, consistent with the theme of low inflation and accommodating monetary policies. Quickly overcoming the brief 3% retreat for the major equity indexes in the first half of August, the bull market continued to charge ahead with new all-time highs posted almost
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In its own boisterous but rewarding way the first half of 2017 has flown by; the Federal Reserve became less accommodative, American policymakers remained deeply divided, and the threats to the European Union’s survival were rising and fading. Despite these issues the equity markets kept making new highs. Those who exited the market in the
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The first quarter of 2017 has been a great one, economically and financially. Despite all the worries and turmoil in D.C. and elsewhere in the world, the markets continued to rise and the economy continued to grow. As March 2017 marked the eighth anniversary of the second longest bull market in modern history, the Dow
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The old saying, “All’s well that ends well” is certainly apropos for last year’s stock market. The market started out with modest appreciation throughout the first nine months and ended the last quarter with a bang.  For the first 3 quarters of 2016 the S&P 500 Index was up a modest 7.84%, and then went
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The third quarter of 2016 had something for everyone. In July, an initially negative market reaction to the surprising Brexit vote passed quickly and the bulls rejoiced as the markets climbed to multiple record highs after Brexit concerns quickly paled. In August, the markets displayed their typical summer sluggishness with low volatility, sideways price action
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Why is it that every time the market is volatile and the world seems to be in crisis mode, the response of most investment advisors is one of reassurance along the lines of “don’t panic” or “now would be a good time to buy more equities”? The reason most advisors respond this way is due
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The U.S. stock market got off to a rocky start in 2016, and the first quarter went into the history books as “a tale of two halves”. The first half started off terribly with renewed economic concerns, worries over the state of China’s economy, a 30% decline in the price of oil and an immediate
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