Enhancing Social Security With Active Management in Market Volatility
With inflation, healthcare costs, and rising home expenses, including high property taxes, Connecticut retirees struggle to cover their monthly needs with Social Security and pensions. Many are turning to their savings and investments to make ends meet. With so much economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, and concerns about Social Security’s future stability, how would a major stock market downturn affect your investments and retirement income? Many so-called financial gurus recommend a static, passive investment strategy that tracks a market index. But […]
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Date: July 29, 2024
Lots Going On Beneath The Surface Of The Pullback
Happy Friday. Let’s talk pullback and what to glean from it. So far here is what has occurred. Dow Industrials -3% S&P 500 -4% S&P 400 -4% Russell 2000 -3.5% NASDAQ 100 -9% On the surface you may conclude that the pullback is basically even except for the NASDAQ 100. But you would be wrong. There is something important beneath the surface that the raw numbers do not show. First, all indices did not peak on the same day. The […]
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Date: July 26, 2024
Not Ready To Upgrade 1-3 Month View Just Yet
Two weeks ago I downgraded my 1-3 month view of the stock market as you know, looking for a 4-7% pullback. However, we also saw an epic surge in participation which was one of the concerns I had. I wasn’t sure how that would all play out. I shared that for the first time since 2018 I think, we had sold out of all of our sector semiconductor position. We also reduced position sizes in Nvidia and Tesla. Yesterday, we […]
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Date: July 24, 2024
Connecticut Retirement Planning: Active Management vs. Traditional Strategies
Like many Connecticut retirees, are you worried about how rising inflation, market volatility, and higher taxes will affect your financial security? With geopolitical issues, uncertainty over the U.S. presidential elections, and potential changes in economic and tax policies, anxiety about retirement savings is higher than ever. Many are rethinking their traditional “set it and forget it” investment strategy due to all the unpredictability. Traditional investment approaches may work when the stock market is going up, but they often lack the […]
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Date: July 22, 2024
Biden Out, Harris In – Does It Matter For The Markets?
Two weekends ago we had an assassination attempt on a former president. This past weekend the current president walks away from his incumbent race. And the U.S. is supposed to be the standard bearer for the world. Yeesh! I did learn something new about politics this weekend. All those who were reporting that President Biden would step down on Sunday afternoon actually knew what they were talking about and those folks have credibility. All those folks who vehemently and defiantly […]
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Date: July 22, 2024
Bears Making Some Noise – Or At Least Trying
Roughly a week ago, I downgraded my 1-3 month outlook on the stock market, citing a number of participation and sentiment concerns. The same day, we saw a once in a million to billion year event regarding the Russell 2000 and S&P 500. Since then, the small and mid cap stocks have strongly led at the expense of the mega caps, especially technology and AI. Over the past few days, that has morphed into the modest pullback I have written […]
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Date: July 19, 2024
BYE BYE Semiconductors, HELLO Small Caps! Generational Move!
Last Thursday, I wrote a blog downgrading my 1-3 month view of the stock market. That very day we saw a 6 sigma event or one in a million to billion year event that last occurred on October 10, 2008. My top concern had been eliminated which was the narrowness and diminishing participation in the rally. However, all concerns were not eliminated. While we did not make any major portfolio changes we did take some actions to harvest some acorns […]
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Date: July 17, 2024
Market Reaction To The Horrific Acts
With the unspeakable and heinous acts over the weekend, the presidential race has widened according to the polls taken. Additionally, the RNC convention begins tonight. This is important because it is likely that Donald Trump will take a commanding lead by the end of the week. It may be temporary, or not, but I fully expect the markets to pivot towards Trump 2.0 with stocks continuing the new theme of the “everything up market” that began last Thursday. Below is […]
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Date: July 15, 2024
HOLY GEEZ!
Thursday was a day for the ages. It was one of those days that you only see a few times in your lifetime. Yes, your entire lifetime! In mathematical terms it was supposedly a 6 sigma event, meaning that it should only happen once in a million to billion years. I added the word “supposedly” because in my 35-year career I have seen enough 6 sigma events to know that what is supposed to happen mathematically and what does happen […]
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Date: July 12, 2024
Changing My View On The Stock Market Over The Next 1-3 Months
As you know, I have been almost universally bullish since September 2022, having gone so far out on a limb to declare that a new bull market would begin in Q4 2022. 2023 was an epic year. While the S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100 have continued that trend in 2024, the other major indices have not. This is not a new story, but one that has worsened. If you own Apple, Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, Broadcom, Costco, Meta, Lilly […]
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Date: July 10, 2024
