Investment committee thoughts from friday 4/20/18
Introduction People from all across the world look forward to Friday. Friday marks the end of a (usually long) work week and the start of what is supposed to be a relaxing weekend. At Rockbridge, we look forward to Friday’s, particularly Friday mornings, for a different reason. Friday mornings have become a tradition, some say […]
Market commentary – april 2018
Stock Markets Returns from various stock market indices over several periods ending March 31, 2018 are shown to the right. Here are a few highlights: While not observed in these graphs, volatility seems to have come back, which is normally how stock markets work. Except for emerging markets, stocks were down over the past quarter […]
Market commentary – january 2018
Stock Markets Returns from various stock market indices over several periods ending December 31, 2017 are shown below. The past quarter was good for stocks – REITs lagged. Over the past year, returns from stock indices, especially emerging markets, were well above longer- term averages. Over longer periods, domestic market indices were well above those […]
Market commentary – October 2017
Stock Markets Equity market returns over several periods ending September 30, 2017 are shown on the graph to the right. Here are a few highlights: Stocks provided above-average returns over the past quarter – REITs lagged. Non-domestic markets led the way in recent periods; over longer periods it was domestic markets. While it would be […]
Market Commentary – July 2017
Stock Markets The chart at right shows stocks performing well in the past quarter and six-month periods. Year to date, domestic large-cap stocks were up about 9% while small-cap stocks were up 5%. Stocks traded in international developed markets and emerging markets were up 14% and about 19%, respectively. Over three, five and ten years, […]
Market Commentary- April 2017
Stock Markets The accompanying chart illustrates the diversification story. It shows returns in several markets over both the March and December quarters. The upward sloping blue columns of the December 2016 quarter show an increase from the low (4% loss) in emerging markets to the high (14%) for the market of small-cap value stocks. Note […]
Market Commentary July 2016
Stock Markets Just look at the short-term variability in the various equity indices shown in the accompanying chart. It shows how markets behave through time – some markets are up substantially while others are down. Of course, this variability is reduced by holding a commitment to each, but it means periodically enduring down markets while […]
Market Commentary April 2016
Stock Markets After January’s rough start, stock markets bounced back nicely in March, bringing most numbers into the black for the quarter. Domestic Small Cap and International Developed Markets are the exception – down about 1.5% and 2%, respectively. Notice from the accompanying chart that it was Emerging Markets that led the way, earning nearly […]
Market Commentary January 2016
Stock Markets In 2015, domestic large cap stocks (S&P 500) and REITs were up while other markets were down – emerging markets were off big! The positive results in the S&P 500 were driven by just two stocks – Amazon and Google. Otherwise it would have looked like other market indices. These results, I think, […]
Market Commentary October 2015
Stock Markets The chart to the right shows what we have had to put up with recently: all but REITs were down for the quarter (all were down since the beginning of the year), and emerging markets were downbig, showing variability over the trailing twelve months. These periods remind us that markets do go down, […]