Highlights of This Week’s Update:
- Chris and Sam attend annual Trust Company of America Adviser Conference in Denver for National exposure to industry experts and current trends.
- Major U.S. stock indices rally last week, with the Dow up 2.59% and S&P 500 jumping 4.19%.
- S. oil production has increased substantially over the past several years.
- The fourth quarter is typically the best three months on average for the S&P 500 performance since 1970.
READ ON FOR MORE DETAILS………………………………………………………………
Annual Trust Company of America Adviser Conference:
The Trust Company of America is not only an industry leader of Custodial Services in the Financial Services Industry, but they are also an innovator in technology helping enhance the services we can provide our clients. Every fall they hold their annual conference in Denver, as they offer an opportunity for advisers like us from across the Country to provide input and feedback on what each firm is experiencing in their respective businesses. Last week, Chris and Sam attended the 3 day conference and were able to hear an array of different speakers and experts such as Steven Levitt, author of Freakonomics, and Perkins Miller, the Chief Digital Officer of the NFL. Over the three days, both of them were able to garner insight and wisdom into current industry trends on a national level.
The Markets:
What a difference a week can make! The major market indices snapped a four-week losing streak (MarketWatch data) in style, with the S&P 500 Index registering its best gain since the first week of January 2013 (MarketWatch data). The S&P 500 jumped 4.19% last week while the Dow rose 2.59%. We won’t speculate as to whether we’ve bottomed. We’ll defer to baseball legend Casey Stengel when it comes to calling short-term gyrations in the market: “Never make predictions, especially about the future.”
What we will do is review some of the factors that supported stocks last week:
1. Upbeat third quarter earnings (Thomson Reuters) and commentary suggest fears of a global slowdown are overblown.
- Expectations of a Fed rate hike have been delayed, which is a plus for stocks. Although few expect a rapid rise in interest rates next year, any delay in the first rate increase would typically be viewed as positive for equities. The Fed meets again this week on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss policy, with an announcement of any changes (none are expected at this point in time) at the completion of their meeting Wednesday. “QE3” is scheduled to end this month.
- Oil is being used as a gauge of global sentiment. For now it has stabilized, and that is being viewed positively for the global economy. Below is a map from Fortune Magazine of how U.S. oil production currently stacks up relative to other countries:
4. We’re headed into a seasonally strong period for stocks based on the historical data – see Figure 1, and some investors may fear being left behind.
We hope you have a great week ahead and don’t forget to set your clocks back one hour this coming weekend as daylight savings time comes to an end.
God Bless,
Your TEAM at F.I.G. Financial Advisory Services, Inc.
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1 The Dow Jones Industrials Average is an unmanaged index of 30 major companies which cannot be invested into directly. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
3 The S&P 500 Index is an unmanaged index of 500 larger companies which cannot be invested into directly. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
4 New York Mercantile Exchange front-month contract; Prices can and do vary; past performance does not guarantee future results.
5 London Bullion Market Association; gold fixing pricing at 3 p.m. London time; 2013 year-end price fixing at 10:30 a.m. London time; Prices can and do vary; past performance does not guarantee future results.
Uncertainty and Volatility