That’s Gonna Sting!
That poor protestor in Hong Kong – OUCH! He may have been in line for an iPhone 6. Speaking of ouch…last week was a rough week, even with the Friday rebound. Every index that is watched by most people was off over 1%, with small-caps falling more than large-caps. All the reasons for the sell-off seemed to be more financial “blah-blah-blah” from the talking heads on TV – Fed stuff, Russia, Syria, U.S. Bombing runs, worries over global growth. But in this week’s short note, I will discuss some stuff worth knowing and watching. Dive on in! The water feels fine…if you are a Canadian goose passing through the Mid- Atlantic on your annual journey South.
Quick Tidbits
Short blog today. To get a quick self-given “pat on the back” out of the way, I was recommended and accepted to represent MWM in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program. With over 300 applying for this honor, they selected 90. This is why I will be at Babson College this week for classes in their Entrepreneur Program. I am excited to get a good old fashion business school refresher. So this is just a quick post before taking off to Babson.
Did anyone notice the final release of second quarter GDP by the Commerce Department last week? As expected, the GDP was revised even higher, from 4.2% to 4.6%. It was not the biggest piece of news last week, because it was highly expected that the number would be revised up to 4.6%. Interestingly, I did not hear many people actually talking about the revision up to 4.6%. That’s a strong number. Without boring you with the details of Growth minus Inventory Build, suffice it to say that the data in the final GDP report is suggestive of sustainable growth.
Last week the Dow Jones Industrial Average had five straight days of +100 point moves, either up or down.
Janus was up something like 40% on Friday, when Bill Gross (who basically built PIMCO into a $2T – yes trillion – operation) said he was leaving PIMCO for Janus. He was quoted as saying, “Janus is the right fit at the right time in my career – and my life.” Janus had no comment I could find…but I imagine someone in the management suite with a massive amount of stock options could possibly have been heard yelling, “F*#K YES! This is the right time in my career too!” Monument Wealth Management is available for your services, Sir or Ma’am. See our cool website for contact info.
By this time next week we will be into October AND the 4th Quarter. WOW! Other than looking forward to holiday gift shopping, you can also look forward to what are HISTORICALLY the three best months of the year for investors. (Past performance is no indicator of future performance – which would actually be a funny tag line for a Viagra commercial).
Weekly Market Returns
Weekly Sector Returns
Earnings Season Starts in Two Weeks
According to a Bespoke survey, 48% of investors are neutral on the market. 30% are positive.
Since 2009, every time the U.S. Dollar has risen 5% in a quarter, the following quarter has experienced double-digit percentage gains in the S&P 500 (according to Bespoke).
So recapping the last few tidbits, 48% of investors are neutral on the market heading into the best (historically) quarter of the year on the back of a +7% gain in the U.S. Dollar (there are two days left for it to dip under 5%…so I’ll roll the dice) heading into earnings season.
Think through your logic of not being invested, if that’s your case. I’ll bet that in five years, you will be happy with any decision you make to invest in the long term today.
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Please remember that past performance may not be indicative of future results. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment, investment strategy, or product (including the investments and/or investment strategies recommended or undertaken by Monument Wealth Management), or any non-investment related content, made reference to directly or indirectly in this blog will be profitable, equal any corresponding indicated historical performance level(s), be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful. Due to various factors, including changing market conditions and/or applicable laws, the content may no longer be reflective of current opinions or positions. Moreover, you should not assume that any discussion or information contained in this blog serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from Monument Wealth Management. To the extent that a reader has any questions regarding the applicability of any specific issue discussed above to his/her individual situation, he/she is encouraged to consult with the professional advisor of his/her choosing. Monument Wealth Management is neither a law firm nor a certified public accounting firm and no portion of the blog content should be construed as legal or accounting advice. A copy of Monument Wealth Management’s current written disclosure statement discussing our advisory services and fees is available for review upon request.
David B. Armstrong, CFA
President & Co-Founder
Dave got into the industry when he discovered his passion for finance in his mid-20’s. He’s a combat veteran and served as an officer in the United States Marines Corps on both active duty and in the reserves, retiring at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. While serving on active duty, Dave was unable to spend money on deployments, so he became a self-taught investor. Along with a few bucks cash as a bouncer, his investing performance grew to be good....
IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE INFORMATION
Please remember that past performance is no guarantee of future results. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment, investment strategy, or product (including the investments and/or investment strategies recommended or undertaken by Monument Capital Management, LLC [“Monument”]), or any non-investment related content, made reference to directly or indirectly in this blog will be profitable, equal any corresponding indicated historical performance level(s), be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful. Due to various factors, including changing market conditions and/or applicable laws, the content may no longer be reflective of current opinions or positions. Moreover, you should not assume that any discussion or information contained in this blog serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from Monument. To the extent that a reader has any questions regarding the applicability of any specific issue discussed above to his/her individual situation, he/she is encouraged to consult with the professional advisor of his/her choosing. No amount of prior experience or success should be construed that a certain level of results or satisfaction will be achieved if Monument is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. Monument is neither a law firm nor a certified public accounting firm and no portion of the blog content should be construed as legal or accounting advice.
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