The markets have seen a post-election surge, especially in the United States. What does it mean for the months ahead? Liz Ann Sonders of Schwab measures investor sentiment and forecasts what to expect in 2017. If you hold bonds in your portfolio, you may be waiting to see if rising interest rates will lower their value. But not all bond funds react the same way, as Rob Williams explains. The Conference Board has released the latest numbers on the Leading Economic Index, showing an increase for the second month in a row. Jill Mislinski graphically illustrates the link between these numbers and the likelihood of a recession. As we age, many of us consider adding a long term care policy. LLIS summarizes long term care concerns for women, business owners and federal employees.
What To Make Of The Post-Election Surge?- Since the pre-election low on November 4, the S&P 500 is up 4.7%, while the Russell 2000 (small caps) is up a whopping 13.8%—rallies which have confounded many investors given the pre-election consensus that stocks would fall on the uncertainty associated with a Trump victory. Liz Ann Sonders, Schwab Chief Investment Officer, continues to expect some bouts of volatility as we move from speculating about Trump’s policies to actually facing their reality next year; especially if protectionism moves up the priority ranking of policies. Read more…
Can Bond Funds Make Sense When Interest Rates Rise?- Rising interest rates can pose a challenge for bond investors. All else being equal, when rates rise, bond prices fall (and vice versa). That means a portfolio of bonds or bond funds could see some price swings when interest rates start to move. Rob Williams expects the Fed to tighten short-term interest rates more slowly in this cycle than in the previous ones, which could result in less volatility for each of the bond fund categories. Read more…
Leading Economic Index (LEI) Continues To Expand in October– “The U.S. LEI increased in October for a second consecutive month. Although its six-month growth rate has moderated, the index still suggests that the economy will continue expanding into early 2017,” said Ataman Ozyildirim, Director of Business Cycles and Growth Research at The Conference Board. Read more…
Different People- Different Long Term Care Concerns. Long term care is an issue that’s particularly important to women. LLIS summarizes concerns and options for the three main client types. Read more…
We hope you enjoy reading these articles along with us and that you find them informative. Please forward this to your friends and family.
Happy Thanksgiving,
John R. Day, Bill Ennis, Stephanie Davidson and Matt Heller