Affinity "Mark" et Minute

Affinity “Mark” et Minute – April 1, 2015

Investment Commentary – April 1, 2015

Dow – 17,776.12 (3/31/15 close)
S&P 500 – 2,067.89 (3/31/15 close)
10-year Treasury – 1.93% (3/31/15 close)

Stocks tumbled yesterday and gave back some of the gains from the previous 2 sessions as Wall Street closed out a volatile 1st quarter with mixed results. The volatile 1st quarter saw the major indexes bounce in and out of positive territory. In March alone, the Dow posted triple digit moves up or down in 16 of the month’s 22 trading sessions.

Stocks have faced pressure from a rising dollar, falling oil prices and uncertainty about the timing of an expected interest rate hike from the Fed.

The U.S. Federal Reserve may begin raising interest rates as early as June 2015. This has raised questions about the potential impact on U.S. stocks. Based on the performance of the S&P 500 index, equity returns were positive in each of the past 5 rate-hike cycles.

Analysts believe the Fed’s current objective to increase interest rates without adversely affecting economic growth could favor equities and other economically sensitive securities more than in past rate-hike periods.

Analysts still favor stocks over bonds.

Investors should not write off Europe despite recent negative headlines. Many of the strongest global brand names headquartered In Europe are now undervalued. The euro’s decline against the U.S. dollar is likely to help European exporters.

In fixed income analysts like corporate bonds, mortgage backed securities, and select European bonds.
The views presented are not intended to be relied on as a forecast, research or investment advice and are the opinions of the sources cited and are subject to change based on subsequent developments. They are not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investment strategy.

Disclosures:
https://www.lordabbett.com/en/perspectives/equityperspectives/equities-what-happens-when-the-fed-finally-hikes-rates.html
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/markets/2015/03/31/stocks-tuesday/70713240/
https://www.oppenheimerfunds.com/advisors/article/take-advantage-of-breaks-in-the-clouds-europe?lnksrc=HPFT1

About the Author: Mark Roberts

In addition to managing clients’ money and giving investment and diversification advice, Mark offers something that “the other guys” don’t - a unique approach to Retirement Tax Strategies and distribution. Time and time again, Mark meets with new clients who tell him they have a great relationship with their financial advisor but have never been offered information on this kind of approach to securing their financial futures. Mark has taken this feedback to heart and works tirelessly to ensure that his strategies focus on taxes and distribution. Mark started selling insurance for a major insurance company right out of high school to help put himself through college. After graduating with a degree in finance, he dove into estate planning on the financial side to set himself apart from other financial advisors. However, as changes were made to estate tax laws over time, Mark shifted his focus to income tax strategies. Mark’s philosophy is “the blue prints are more important than the wall paper or carpet.” The wall paper and carpet represent products like investments and insurance policies, whereas the blue prints represent the strategies. Once strategies that truly fit the client’s needs are put in place, our focus can shift to providing you with the right products. According to Mark, “It doesn’t matter what carpet we use if the walls are not in the right place.” Our approach to money management is designed to generate the largest alpha (quality) with the lowest standard deviation and beta (risk). By doing this, we help provide clients with the highest return on the lowest risk. Generating income for our retirees is also very important. Because withdrawing money from your portfolio hurts the account rather than helping it, our goal is to design income strategies to harm the portfolio the least making the money last longer.

Affinity “Mark” et Minute – April 1, 2015

Affinity “Mark” et Minute – April 1, 2015

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About the Author: Mark Roberts