As we entered 2016, the factors that led to the volatility throughout the 2nd half of 2015 persisted. After one of the worst ever starts to a year, a rally in March led to the S&P 500 ending positive for the quarter.
Uncertainty in the financial markets leads to volatility. There was uncertainty about the price of oil, US interest rates and the overall health of the global economy. Continue reading “April 2016 Commentary”
Investors and money managers alike were happy to say goodbye to 2015 as the S&P 500 closed the year on the downside for the first time since 2008. So far, 2016 has not fared better in its first week with global markets suffering.
There is much uncertainty and bad news out there to justify the negative sentiment:
Quarter Review
Everywhere we looked last quarter flashed signs of a pullback:
It’s no wonder that at one point we saw the S&P 500 decline over 10% from its highs for the first time in 3 ½ years. The headlines left many investors jittery about living through another major market pullback like we’ve seen on 3 other occasions since 2000. What I routinely reminded our clients is that, historically, we get a 10% pullback annually. So waiting 3 ½ years, we were long overdue. Continue reading “October 2015 Commentary”
Quarter Review
As I’ve stated before, the market does not like uncertainty, and there was plenty of it in the 2nd quarter of 2015. Questions about an improving US economy and potential Fed interest rate hike, as well as concerns over the Greek debt crisis left investors in a state of flux for most of the quarter. Continue reading “July 2015 Commentary”
Quarter Review
The volatility we saw in the 4th quarter of 2014 continued throughout the first quarter of 2015. The primary driver of the volatility was an increased expectation amongst economists that the U.S. Federal Reserve would raise interest rates as early as June. A second factor was sub-par earnings reports that produced a perceived slowdown in US production.
For the quarter, the S&P 500 squeezed out a slight gain of less than one percent. Conversely, the international markets (EAFE Index) produced a gain of over 5%. The shift signaled a belief that the similar European and Japanese monetary policies, which helped US markets for the last few years, are beginning to have the same positive effects across seas. Continue reading “April 2015 Commentary”
Quarter Review
The 4th quarter of 2014 has been considerably more volatile than those of the past few years, as we have seen a see saw effect on a swell of global economic data and events. The quarter thus far has seen the S&P 500 fluctuate up and down by 5% or more a number of times. Continue reading “December Commentary”
The 2nd quarter of 2014 was full of milestones and momentum as the “sell in May” theorists were again on the wrong side. We saw the quarter end with a gain of over 4% in the S&P 500 with all-time highs eclipsed on multiple occasions throughout the quarter. It seems almost inevitable that 2014 will see S&P 2000. Continue reading “July 2014 Market Commentary”
Vavra Capital Management is pleased to announce the opening of it’s first separately managed account product. The strategy aims to outperform a 60/40 weighting of the Wilshire 5000 Stock Index and Lehman Aggregate Bond Index utilizing a portfolio of exchange traded funds (ETFs) while maintaining a similar risk level. The VCM Balanced ETF Strategy will be available directly through Vavra Capital or through any advisor on TD Ameritrade, Schwab, Fidelity or Pershing’s institutional managed accounts platform. For more information, please contact Vavra Capital directly at info@vavracapital.com or (610) 489-3018.
Our June commentary happened to be timely and fortuitous when I suggested the 5% pullback in the US markets sparked by the Federal Reserve hinting of a bond buying taper was “unwarranted” and an “overreaction” and would be “short-lived” and create a “buying opportunity”. Since then the S&P 500 has risen almost 13% to an all-time high of around 1800. Continue reading “November 2013 Commentary”
The Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday and Chairman Ben Bernanke’s comments about tapering the bond buying program created a two day sell-off of almost every asset class. With stocks, bonds and commodities seeing across the board selling, one has to wonder why? Continue reading “June 2013 Commentary”
VCM Wealth | 1026 Blacksmith Lane, Collegeville, PA 19426
P: 610-489-3018 F: 815-366-7463 info@vcm-wealth.com
