Uphill Battle February 18, 2023 Categories: Last year proved to be a historically challenging year in financial markets. The S&P 500 was down 18.1%, its 7th worst loss in the past 100 years. While volatility in the stock market is nothing new, the bond market experienced its own case of a drawdown. 2022 saw the Bloomberg Aggregate Bond Market suffer its worse loss in history declining 13%. Put the two markets together in the bellwether 60/40 portfolio and investors experienced a drawdown of 16% in 2022. Read more
Courage in the Storm October 26, 2022 Categories: There are days and there are decades. Then, there are days when decades happen. I quickly realized upon waking up at 2 AM on September 28, 2022, that this was going to be one of those days. Read more
Volatility Returns March 7, 2020 Categories: Markets, Bear Markets, Bonds Volatility has returned to global financial markets. As seen in figure 1 below, the Volatility Index (“VIX”) has spiked to the highest level since 2015. However, looking further back, the VIX is nowhere near the Great Recession of 2008-2009. History proves that volatility in financial markets is nothing new. However, since early 2009, the US markets have enjoyed a low period of volatility. Read more
5 AM Alarm January 12, 2019 Categories: 2018 Review, Asset Allocation, Bonds, Bond Market As I have aged, it seems my alarm clock goes off earlier and earlier. As a child, I somewhat dreaded waking up early in the morning unless it involved golf or some other sporting activity. Early morning Bible studies were thrown in the mix as I entered college. I have many older mentors to thank for motivating me to get up early and study the Bible. As I started my career, an earlier wake-up was the norm. Of course, once kids came along, the alarm clock was somewhat useless as babies became the new alarm clock (which went off multiple times every night). More recently, I have picked back up the hobby of running. With a busy family and work life, early mornings are the best time to “get my run in”. I have come to enjoy the solitude and peace of the early morning. Read more
