Affinity "Mark" et Minute - December 12, 2017

Affinity “Mark” et Minute – December 12, 2017

Investment Commentary –December 12th, 2017

Market Indices as of Market Close December 12th, 2017
Dow 24,504 (24.00% YTD)
S&P 2,664 (19.00% YTD)
NASDAQ 6,862 (27.48% YTD)
Global DOW 3,033 (19.91% YTD)
Gold $1,246 (6.63%)
OIL $57.45 (0.81%)
US 10Y Treasury 2.409 (-3.69%)
Barclay Bond Aggregate (3.33% YTD)

S&P 500, Dow end at records ahead of Fed decision

The S&P 500 and the Dow closed at records for a fourth session in a row Tuesday as the Federal Reserve kicks off its two-day meeting, but the NASDAQ bucked the trend to head south.

The central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee is widely expected to announce its third and final interest-rate hike of 2017 on Wednesday, but investors want to see what the policy-making body signals about 2018.

How did the main benchmarks fare?

The S&P 500 SPX, +0.15% rose 4.12 points, or 0.2%, to 2,664.11. Telecoms and financials led the gains, while utilities and energy shares lagged behind.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.49% advanced 118.77 points, or 0.5%, to 24,504.80.

News around the web:

Slowing down

After posting big gains during the two previous weeks, the major stock indexes took a breather in the first full week of December. The S&P 500 and the Dow recorded small gains, while the NASDAQ Composite slipped.

No shutdown

Fears of a partial shutdown of the U.S. government eased over the short term as Congress and President Trump on Thursday agreed on a stopgap spending bill. The agreement will keep the government funded through December 22, although budget priorities and other issues remain unresolved.

On tap this week:

Wednesday

U.S. Federal Reserve Board concludes two-day policy meeting, Chair Janet Yellen holds press conference

Friday

Industrial production capacity utilization, U.S. Federal Reserve

LEADERS & LAGGARDS

Leaders this past week were Technology, Healthcare and financials. Laggards were Utilities and Conglomerates.

This day in financial history: Carnegie and Morgan Get Together

Charles Schwab brokers a deal bringing companies of J. P. Morgan and Andrew Carnegie together to form U.S. Steel.

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 investments.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-industrials-catch-their-breath-with-fed-meeting-set-to-start-2017-12-12
https://www.econedlink.org/economic-calendar.php?month=12

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 – December 12, 2017

Affinity “Mark” et Minute – December 12, 2017

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About the Author: Mark Roberts