Insight & Commentaries
On the surface, valuations appear to be coming back down to earth. The Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index has declined to nearly 4,000 from almost 4,800 in January. Back at the January peak, forecast year-ahead earnings for the index stood at $223, and now those forecasts are at $237. Today’s price-earnings ratio is 17x compared with 21x in January and in line with the 10-year average. So, stocks are moving down despite rising profit forecasts, resulting in better value.
A sharp rise in interest rates catches the bond market by surprise and creates a challenge for the bull case for stocks. This week, we look at how rising rates are shaping the outlook.
The first quarter brought a surge in inflation and war in Eastern Europe. This environment imposes a new reality on investors and policymakers. In this report, we discuss what is happening and how our top-down portfolios are positioned now.
Against a backdrop of falling consumer expectations, we consider what a “typical” cycle tends to look like. As an old aphorism states: “History doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes.” We offer a highly “stylized” interpretation of market cycles to consider the current situation.
Our process for tactical asset allocation involves assessing data. Specifically, we assess month-to-month trends in data. When Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in late February, most of the trends we follow seemed poised to bounce. Obviously, this is no longer the case. This week we assess how recent data is influencing our outlook.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the West’s initial response, casts a veil over Eastern Europe. This veil of uncertainty can be unsettling as we confront many unknowns. This week we look at what actions are being taken and how these actions may influence the investing landscape.
The stock market is near $50 trillion in value, about $15 trillion greater than before COVID-19. Stock values rose far faster than bonds, market earnings forecasts are hitting new highs, and companies are finding it easy to borrow. Yet there are signs that this happy situation could be poised to change. This week, we look at some recent evidence to support this claim.
Where do you want to be invested when faced with the prospect of a bear market? Some say that high dividend yields provide protection when stocks fall. This implies that since the yield rises as the stock price declines, new buyers will be attracted as the price drops. Such buyers could help establish a “floor” below the stock. While this sounds good in theory, we find scant evidence that it actually works in practice. This strategy fails when needed most because “high yielders” tend to be fundamentally weak. While some high-yielding stocks may be good bargains, most high yields reflect…
We publish this year’s Viewpoint 2022 amid ongoing recovery from an unprecedented pandemic. Signs of continued growth are apparent despite new COVID-19 variants and anticipated policy shifts. Long-run return expectations fall this year in as valuations and profit margins are elevated for stocks. For fixed income investors, surging inflation and expectations for rising rates are of primary focus.
Despite an ongoing economic recovery and bull market in stocks, we see a growing set of reasons suggesting some caution may now be warranted. In this week’s commentary, we will lay out these reasons and offer some ideas for navigating more challenging market environments.
Quarterly Report
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