Affinity "Mark" et Minute - December 4, 2014

Affinity “Mark” et Minute – December 4, 2014

Investment Commentary – December 3, 2014

Dow -17,879.55 (12/2/14 close) (all-time high)
S&P 500 – 2,066.55 (12/2/14 close)
10-year Treasury – 2.29% (12/2/14)

· Stock market performance has been impacted by a couple of big themes of late: Central bank stimulus overseas and the plunge in oil prices.

· Last Friday OPEC took no action to curtail oil output. Immediately after that decision oil prices fell to multi-year lows, in the process putting additional pressure on energy companies.

· U.S. GDP growth expanded 3.9% in the 3rd quarter of 2014, following a 2nd quarter expansion of 4.6%. After a weak first and very strong second quarters, generally positive data helped to reassure investors that the momentum observed in 2nd quarter 2014 is sustainable.

· U.S. automobile sales rose 4.6% in November to 1.3M, Auto data reported, with the auto sales rate coming to 17.2M last month in the strongest pace for the month since 2003. Analysts think the auto sales indicate the economy’s momentum remains on track and are moving along, basically on all fronts.

· Analysts expect U.S. short-term rates to climb next year as the Fed initiates hikes in the federal funds rate. That said, the overall rise in interest rates is likely to be inhibited by: 1) low yields in the rest of the world, which encourages foreign buying of U.S. Treasury bonds, and 2) the persistent imbalance between demand and supply. In short, while long-term rates are likely to rise next year, they will remain low relative to historical standards.

· Analysts continue to favor stocks relative to bonds and cash in the U.S., where they see modest but positive economic growth. They think that the U.S. economy is on a steadier trajectory than in most of the rest of the world.

· Analysts favor the following sectors: Technology, Healthcare, and Industrials.

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:

Click to access cio-insights-wittman-asset-allocation-q4-retail.pdf

https://advisor.fidelity.com/app/item/RD_13569_43201.html
https://www.jpmorganfunds.com/cm/Satellite?pagename=jpmfVanityWrapper&UserFriendlyURL=contentdet_module&smID=1159383786125
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102231457

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 4, 2014

Affinity “Mark” et Minute – December 4, 2014

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About the Author: Mark Roberts