Market Memo

February 2024 – By Bob Veres

There are periods of market complacency where most investors see nothing but upside from here to eternity, and then there are periods like this, which might be described as extreme complacency.  One measure of how people are feeling about the market is the VIX, often called the investor fear gauge.  The VIX index, which tracks market volatility, normally trades at about 20, and it can go dramatically higher—to a record 82.69 in March of 2020 as people began to realize the implications of the new COVID pandemic.  Today the VIX is trending downward, at a 13 level, despite markets at all-time highs, persistent inflation, and global political instability.

Planning Article

February 2024 – By Bob Veres

The annual ritual of Groundhog Day is behind us, but we all still wonder when the weather will turn warm again.  It happens at different times in different parts of the country, of course, but there is evidence that, in the Northern Hemisphere, the warming trend is coming as much as a week earlier, on average, than it did thirty years ago.

Market Memo

January 2024 – By Kyle Rohrwasser

Between 2009 and 2022 the average Federal Funds rate for a given year was never over 2.2%, with many of those years averaging well under 1% at essentially zero. That created a situation that we like to call TINA (there is no alternative) which moved most investments into equities. When cash or short-term fixed-income instruments pay very little, one of the only ways to get “real growth” is through the equity markets.

Market Minute

January 2024 – By Scott Rosenquist, CFA®

A record amount of cash is now sitting in money market funds as higher yields continue to attract investor attention. This is great news for savers and investors who no longer need to reach for yield by taking additional risk. The question everyone is asking is, how long will it last?