Posts by jmgfinancial

INVESTMENT COMMITTEE COMMENTARY August 2024 The S&P 500 closed August near an all-time high and recovered from a sell-off early in the month.  For the month, the S&P 500 rose 2.4%. Market volatility increased at the beginning of August.   Many markets experienced a broad “risk off” trade leading to declines in U.S. and Japanese equities.…

INVESTMENT COMMITTEE COMMENTARY July 2024 At the beginning of August, global equity markets experienced a broad “risk off” decline.  The ten-year Treasury yield fell to 3.78%.  Japanese equites were down about twice as much as other developed markets as the Bank of Japan announced rate hikes. In our opinion, what is driving the sell-off is…

INVESTMENT COMMITTEE COMMENTARY June 2024 The S&P 500 had another strong month in June, led again by the artificial intelligence-linked (AI) stocks, while the broader equity and bond markets experienced mixed results. The strong AI earnings came from Oracle and Broadcom along with news Apple was integrating AI technology into future iPhones. Tech stocks pushed…

INVESTMENT COMMITTEE COMMENTARY April 2024 Stocks ended April lower as benchmark indices endured their first downturn in several months. Throughout April, investors had to factor in the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) apparent intent to hold interest rates at a two-decade high, the track of inflation, and geopolitical risks from the escalating wars in the Middle East…

INVESTMENT COMMITTEE COMMENTARY March 2024 In March, the equity rally continued, aided by familiar factors such as solid economic growth, generally as-expected inflation data, AI enthusiasm and bullish Federal Reserve (Fed) guidance. Broadly speaking, economic and inflation data, while slowing, met investor expectations of stable growth and easing inflation. In mid-March, updated Fed interest rate…

INVESTMENT COMMITTEE COMMENTARY February 2024 Stocks ended February on a high note with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 notching all-time highs. Technology companies, particularly those linked to artificial intelligence (AI), helped drive stocks. Inflation data released at the end of the month was in line with expectations, which also supported stocks. February’s gains marked…

INVESTMENT COMMITTEE COMMENTARY January 2024 Stocks had mixed performance in January. Repeating a theme from 2023, U.S. large cap growth and technology sector stocks had positive performance while the broader U.S. stock market had modest or negative total returns. Entering 2024, stock valuations were elevated due to strong sentiment and high investor expectations. With that…

INVESTMENT COMMITTEE COMMENTARY November 2023 Stocks had strong gains in November and reversed a seasonal trend of weaker performance. Recent inflation data showed that inflation is continuing to recede. Investors turned optimistic as the Federal Reserve (Fed) held interest rates level in November, leading to a greater expectation that the Fed is done raising interest rates…