Blog
Traditional and ROTH IRAs – Strategies for Building Your Retirement
Everyone saving for retirement knows being proactive is very important. The concept of not preparing and relying on a government-sponsored retirement is a risky and unreliable practice. Having healthy retirement savings can help you live comfortably in your golden...
Quarterly Economic Update | Second Quarter 2023
The second quarter of 2023 tested even the most seasoned of investors. It was a quarter that included the U.S. reaching a debt ceiling agreement, the Federal Reserve pausing their aggressive interest rate hikes, and bank failure fears starting to subside. During the...
Ideas to Help Prepare for a Recession
For the last several months, talk of a recession has been making news headlines. Analysts and investors have been speculating if, when, and how bad of a recession the U.S. could experience. News sources have resembled Paul Revere proclaiming, “a recession is coming!”...
Five Strategies to Improve Your Investing Experience
There are numerous investment philosophies, but at the end of the day, almost all investors have a common goal – to have their money work for them and increase their assets. As financial professionals, our goal is to partner with each of our clients on their unique...
Research
Gold Shines Brighter Than Ever | Weekly Market Commentary | March 11, 2024
Bullion broke new ground last week after rallying to a record high. Growing investor confidence for a Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cut by this summer dragged down yields and the dollar, creating a tailwind for gold. The breakout above key resistance at $2,075 was also a major technical development, confirmed by bullish momentum that suggests the rally could continue. Global central bank demand has been another key catalyst and has shown no sign of slowing down, while a rebound in demand from gold-related exchange-traded funds (ETFs) could provide additional support for the yellow metal.
Super Six Drives Solid Earnings Season | Weekly Market Commentary | March 4, 2024
After a slow start mired by messy bank results early on, corporate America picked up the pace and ended up delivering results well ahead of expectations. The “Super Six” was part of the story — the Magnificent Seven minus Tesla (TSLA) — but resilient profit margins are also noteworthy. Here we review fourth quarter earnings season and share some thoughts on the earnings outlook for 2024.
Buybacks Are Back | Weekly Market Commentary | February 26, 2024
After a brief lull in 2023, buyback activity appears to be back this year. A resilient U.S. economy, easing inflation pressures, and expectations for an eventual shift to interest rate cuts have given corporate America confidence to boost authorized share repurchases. These companies have a history of outperforming the broader market and tend to have more exposure to momentum, value, and growth factors. While buybacks also reduce share count and help support earnings growth and valuations, they can also help limit downside volatility during periods of selling pressure.
Treasuries: Who’s Buying and Why It Matters | Weekly Market Commentary | February 20, 2024
As the Federal Reserve (Fed) continues with its Quantitative Tightening (QT) program, questions abound regarding the Treasury Department’s expanding funding needs. The QT program is designed to reduce the Fed’s balance sheet — now $7.7 billion down from $9 billion — after Treasury notes (mostly) were bought after economic concerns intensified during the COVID-19-related pandemic. Households and, perhaps surprisingly, foreign investors have been buyers recently, and with the amount of Treasury supply coming to market, both will need to keep buying.