Displaying items by tag: S&P 500

(New York)

October is usually associated with market panics and gives investors a general sense of anxiety. Many of the greatest market meltdowns occurred in October, including 1929, 1987, and 2008. However, this October seems likely to be different, says Barron’s. In fact, good Octobers are not infrequent. It may surprise investors to learn that October has the highest average return of any month in the last 20 years. But the reason this year might be good is that there is a midterm election in November, a factor that has historically made October a strong month for returns.

FINSUM: When you put together the numerous factors supporting markets with the midterm elections next month, it seems like this October will be a good one.

(New York)

That is quite a counterintuitive headline, but in an odd way, it could not be more true. Bloomberg has put out a piece, which echoes many advisors, that the current bull market could actually end up hurting many retirees. The reason why is that many have experienced hefty gains in the last decade and feel comfortable retiring. However, after such a sharp run higher, the market is likely to experience a steep correction. For retirees seeking to steadily withdraw money from their accounts, this could pose a major problem, as a drop in the market could cause such significant damage to portfolio value that even outperformance in subsequent years may not make up for it.

FINSUM: This is a valuable point that all retirees and their advisors need to bear in mind. Portfolio construction and planning definitely need to take this threat into account.

(New York)

Morgan Stanley has just put out a warning, or perhaps better stated, a notice to investors. The bank is reminding the market that this year will likely have the lowest returns in a decade. The bank’s strategists say that “2018 is on track to have the lowest share of positive returns adjusted for inflation across 17 major asset classes since 2008”. The poor returns have been particularly true for those holding globally diversified portfolios. What’s worse, Morgan Stanley thinks returns are going to get worse because of rising rates. According to the bank “We’re big believers that real rates matter most for risk markets, as it’s the rate over and above inflation that matters most for discounting future cash flows … As ‘invincible’ as the U.S. equity market has been, it hasn’t had to confront a different rate regime”.

FINSUM: If you look internationally, this has been a terrible year for markets, and it does seem true that rising rates won’t help anything in the coming year.

(New York)

US stocks have simply blown away the world this year. The S&P 500 is up around 9% while global shares are down 6%. The outperformance has been driven by a supportive tax policy, great economic performance, and a pro-business attitude out of the White House. However, JP Morgan says that the outperformance of US stocks relative to the globe is set to stop. US stocks and global ones will move towards parity in coming quarters as the stimuli helping American shares wanes. The parity will not come from global stocks catching up as much as the US will stagnate or fall.

FINSUM: When we take everything into account right now, we are feeling increasingly positive about the the next year. We think Democrats winning the House would be favorable for shares as it would calm money managers’ worries about some of the GOPs more extreme positions (e.g. trade war). This could bring on a “goldilocks” scenario, where the economic and political conditions are just right for stocks to move strongly higher.

(New York)

Consumer confidence in the United States is at an 18-year high. The last time Americans registered a feeling of confidence this high was in September 2000. However, that could be a big problem for the stock market. Consumer confidence can prove a counter-indicator. The highest ever reading for the measure was recorded in May 2000, just before the Dotcom crash. Small business confidence is even higher, running at a 45-year peak. According to one analyst, “[To] any market historian, that does not guarantee a low-risk market, or another big bull market leg on the horizon”.

FINSUM: These kind of ultra-high measures do worry us as we feel healthy gains come in periods of reasonable concern, not euphoria.