Posts by Ed Raffenetti

INVESTMENT COMMITTEE COMMENTARY May 2022 Bearish sentiment seemed to diminish in May. A late month surge in stock performance was a welcome change after weeks of market drawdowns on continuing worries of inflation, rising interest rates and the war in Ukraine. It is too soon to conclude that the 2022 market decline has reached a…

INVESTMENT COMMITTEE COMMENTARY April 2022 Equity and fixed income asset classes declined in April.  Rising interest rates and inflation, the war in Ukraine, and COVID lockdowns in China all created uncertainty, resulting in weakness in the equity and fixed income markets. During the month, the yield on 10-year Treasuries rose from 2.33% to 2.89%.  The…

INVESTMENT COMMITTEE COMMENTARY March 2022 Inflation, interest rates, oil prices and the war in Ukraine continued to impact the investment markets in March. While progress in the U.S. with COVID-19 continues, the pandemic is not fully behind us as companies figure out how and when to bring employees back to their offices. The most recent…

INVESTMENT COMMITTEE COMMENTARY February 2021 There is no downplaying the human suffering caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Ukraine and those with family and friends that may be in harm’s way.  The outcome remains uncertain. That said, we will attempt to address the implications from an investment perspective. Inflation…

INVESTMENT COMMITTEE COMMENTARY January 2022 After a strong 2021, equities opened the year with negative performance. Besides ongoing COVID-19 concerns, investors worried about impending interest rate hikes and asset purchase tapering by the Federal Reserve (Fed). Following the Fed’s two-day policy meeting that concluded on January 26th, Chairman Powell issued a statement indicating policy reversals…

INVESTMENT COMMITTEE COMMENTARY December 2021 Equity asset classes rose in December, rebounding after market declines in late November. Markets reacted positively to early medical indications on the COVID Omicron variant. Individuals infected by Omicron have about a 20% reduced risk of needing any hospital care and a 40% lower risk of an overnight hospital stay,…

INVESTMENT COMMITTEE COMMENTARY NOVEMBER 2021 Equity assets classes fell in November with the majority of the declines occurring in the last week of the month.  Markets moved lower on the identification of a new coronavirus variant, Omicron, and investor uncertainty over its potential effects.  In addition, the Federal Reserve (Fed) announced early in November intentions…

INVESTMENT COMMITTEE COMMENTARY OCTOBER 2021 After a modest 5% stock market pullback in September, the S&P 500 moved sharply higher in October. The fourth quarter is historically the strongest of the year for the stock market. In October, the S&P 500 gained 7% bringing the year-to-date total return to 24%. New cases of COVID-19 continued…

INVESTMENT COMMITTEE COMMENTARY SEPTEMBER 2021 September is historically the worst month for U.S. stock market performance.  Since 1926, it is the only month where the average stock market returns are negative.  This year, equities also declined in September.  This month’s drawdown occurred after the S&P 500 had delivered its best performance through August since 1997.…