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WHAT'S NEW? Our Latest Updates!

February 2024 Performance Review

The market booked another strong month for U.S. stocks. The only foreign market that outperformed the U.S. in February was China which rebounded nearly 10%.

January 2024 Performance Review

December's significant returns for stocks and bonds largely fizzled out in January, at least for non-US stocks.

2023 Performance Review

Falling inflation, a surprisingly robust economy, and expectations of reduced short-term rates led to a dramatic decrease in long-term rates and a significant stock market rally, especially in speculative sectors that suffered in 2022.

November 2023 Performance Review

November was a month for the record books. The bond market abruptly reversed course as investors collectively decided that 5% on a ten-year government bond was about as high as we're going to see.

October 2023 Performance Review

With the strength in early November, The S&P 500 index is only about 5% away from all-time highs hit at the end of 2021. The bond market is still down about 20% from the highs, with longer-term government bonds down around 40% — the biggest drop ever.

September 2023 Performance Review

The hot US stock market couldn't handle the renewed slide in bonds, leading to a decline of over 4% for a balanced portfolio of stocks and bonds for the month. Despite this, the economy remains strong, even as 30-year fixed rate mortgages approach 7%, reminiscent of the worst of the bond market hit in 2022. 

August 2023 Performance Review

The economy is not slipping into a recession so far, at least not in the USA. However, rates are expected to remain high due to escalating costs in energy and housing. Notably, only short-term bond funds exhibited growth last month, with almost all fund categories sinking. Some riskier bond funds were the exception, benefiting from a robust economy that supports higher default risk bonds.

Trade Alert

One of the ETF holdings in our Conservative portfolio, the NightShares 2000 ETF (NIVM), was liquidated last week. For now, we're shifting the 5% allocation to cash via an ETF specializing in 6-month T-bills. This means we're transitioning from a no-yield cash position to an actual cash-like fund with a much higher yield. 

July 2023 Performance Review

The stock market is like a fighter in a movie, taking severe punishment in the form of rising rates and saying, "Is that all ya got?" to commentators asking "what is keeping him standing?" before a big comeback.

June 2023 Performance Review

Considering our heavy exposure to value stocks and bonds, we're surprised to be at least in the ballpark of the Vanguard benchmark total global portfolio fund. This is despite the tech and large-cap growth market quickly outpacing us.