Slider Revolution

A strong case can be made for dividend growth investing. The Case for Rising Dividends explores the rationale and evidence behind the dividend growth philosophy.

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The 2020 coronavirus outbreak is taking a toll and investing in times of uncertainty can be challenging. Large moves in stock and bond prices have again become the rule rather than the exception. We would like to share a series of exhibits and perspective pieces that you might find helpful in navigating today’s turbulent markets.

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Tactical asset allocation in CONQUEST portfolios is discussed in this quarterly series. In this quarterly installment, we discuss how CONQUEST is adapting to rapid changes brought about by the outbreak of Covid-19. An encouraging start to the year gave way to the unsettling reality of a global pandemic last month. In very short order, financial markets responded to extraordinary societal changes. Since February 19, global stock markets shed a record $25 trillion (30%) in a matter of days after Covid-19 became a pandemic. Bond markets and commodities also exhibited volatility and complicated movements. Not since 1987 have markets adjusted with…

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To Play it Safe

It is not too soon to start imagining a post-virus world. At some point, this will pass into the history books. For now, personal survivability is paramount until whenever that day comes. Surviving means doing everything possible to stay physically healthy. The investing analog holds as well — the key for investors now is corporate survivability. We believe now is the time to play it safe, focus on quality, and avoid buying low-quality, cheap stocks. Bad News Ahead The next phase will be full of bad news about the economy. Last week’s 3.25 million weekly unemployment insurance claims report is…

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A Month’s Time

In just a month’s time, the U.S. stock market’s value is back to where it was in late 2018. The speed and intensity of the recent decline is unusual as the United States’ equity markets lost $11 trillion (30%) in just one month. This 30% decline is also reflected in the Dow Jones Industrial Average seen below. The chart shows how this episode compares with past notable declines. In contrast to a month’s time, it took eight months for the Dow to give up 30% during the 2000-2002 market decline and fourteen months for the index to shed that amount…

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