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Paul Schatz, President, Heritage Capital

Election Model Tightens With Weak Employment & Market Selloff

T minus 4 days until the election. I hope to send out emails and/or videos over the weekend and then most days next week. After my last email about our election model I was amazed that people completely ignored my comments and sent me chirping, nasty emails. The model is 100% unemotional. It doesn’t care about policy, opinions, polls nor feelings. It certainly doesn’t care who I am voting for. It simply scores recent economic data along with three time […]   Read More
Date: November 1, 2024

***Q3 Client Update***

A quick update on our presidential election model which has had a strong track record over the years. The model was last wrong in 1992. It has been dusted off and I am running every other day this week. Then I will run it every day into Tuesday. Kamala Harris scores the point for the economy. That’s unlikely to change with the few pieces of data coming out over the coming few days. The stock market times series is not […]   Read More
Date: October 30, 2024

Markets Firm As Election Draws Closer – Some Model Inputs

Greetings from Dallas where I am attending my semi-annual industry conference, moderating a few panels and catching up with old friends and colleagues. A group of us had dinner last night and I got to spend lots of time with my friend and former partner, Dave Moenning who among the great guys I know in the industry. While the formal presentations are fantastic, there is nothing better than networking to learn how people run their business, their successes and failures. […]   Read More
Date: October 28, 2024

Mastering Retirement With Advanced Planning Strategies for Affluent Investors

Retirement planning for high-net-worth individuals presents unique challenges. With substantial portfolios and complex tax considerations, the stakes are high, and the need for precise planning is paramount. For over 30 years, Heritage Capital has provided Connecticut financial planning services, helping affluent individuals retire confidently. Through active investment management and comprehensive planning, we help manage risks so our clients enjoy a successful retirement, no matter what the markets or life bring. This guide is a proactive approach to managing market uncertainties […]   Read More
Date: October 28, 2024

Wanna Know Who Will Win The Election?

The election is 11 days away and I will likely be commenting on it in each blog until then. As you know, my thesis has always been that elections absolutely do not matter for the markets nor economy until we get to November. All year long, all this posturing and fear mongering has been absurd and annoying. These pundits with Harris and Trump portfolios. They know not of what they speak. 100 years of data suggest that’s it’s all a […]   Read More
Date: October 25, 2024

Volatility Stubbornly High – Proven Wrong Quickly

By the slightest margin, stocks closed for the second day in a row, breaking a 30+ day streak. Does that really matter? I don’t think so. Seasonals are weak this week, but nothing powerful. It has been a real nothing burger this month which probably means something will come out of the blue. Retreading an old topic, the Volatility Index (VIX) is below. With stocks at new highs, the VIX should not even be a teenager, let alone stubbornly close […]   Read More
Date: October 23, 2024

When Paid Actors Tell You The Market Can’t Go Down

The markets open the week with a range of all-time highs. Furthermore, lots of folks shared that the stock market hasn’t had back to back down days in more than 30 days. That is the epitome of strong momentum and buying every dip. Since the mini-crash on August 5th, there have been only two decent down days. I think that’s going to change this week. This rally has flown in the face of seasonal factors which argued for weakness in […]   Read More
Date: October 21, 2024

How Active Management Helps With Social Security and Market Volatility

While Social Security can be an important source of income, it often falls short of covering all expenses—especially with rising taxes and inflation. For many high-net-worth individuals, relying on investments to make up the difference can be stressful with increasing market volatility. Active management offers a solution by helping protect your investments from market swings while pursuing growth opportunities, thereby creating a more stable approach to retirement planning. At Heritage Capital, we specialize in active investment management and strategies for […]   Read More
Date: October 21, 2024

Slow Grind Higher, Bonds Trying, Crude Not So Much

Happy Friday! No matter how many times people argue with me, I am not changing my position. The election has almost no bearing on the markets nor economy until at least Halloween, if at all until the big day. Sorry not sorry. Data bear that out. Many of you know that we run a purely quantitative election model based on market performance over three time periods as well as recent economic data. The model has correctly predicted every election since […]   Read More
Date: October 18, 2024

Canary In The Coal Mine – What’s Up With Semis?

The stock market encountered its first real shot across the bow on Tuesday when international semiconductor stock, ASML, surprised with a revenue warning during trading hours. No one needs any training in finance to figure out where the announcement occurred on the chart below. The action was swift and punishing. The question is whether this is idiosyncratic or industry wide. As many of you know except for a brief period starting with the mini-crash on August 5th, we have shied […]   Read More
Date: October 16, 2024