Author Archives: Kurt Odegard
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Recap of Q1 Market Activity |
Stock markets continued to rally off last summer’s swoon and are now back at multi-year highs. Outside of U.S. Treasuries, nearly every asset class generated positive returns in the quarter—many in double-digit percentage territory—as investors re-embraced risk assets. Stock investors … Continue reading
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Stocks Surge – Now What? |
Stocks are off to a torrid start in 2012. The gains are even more impressive going back to the end of 2011′s third quarter— the S&P 500 is up 22% since then. Given such a sharp rally with yet unresolved … Continue reading
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Patience Is a Virtue |
We’ve all heard that patience is a virtue. However, over the past decade it seems like everyone in the investing community has been determined to make short-term and reactionary tactical decisions in an effort to receive instant gratification. In the … Continue reading
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Recap of Q4 Market Activity |
2011 was a year of risk aversion, as investors flocked to the relative safety of U.S. large cap stocks, bonds, and gold while grappling with uncertainty in Europe, political dysfunction in the U.S., slower growth in emerging markets, and fallout … Continue reading
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Diversification: We Are Still Believers |
Years from now, people may look back at 2011 and conclude it was a decent year for the markets. The S&P 500 posted a modest gain and U.S. government bonds generated stellar returns. However, these good tidings mask the underlying … Continue reading
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Buying Low in a Tricky Environment |
It’s no secret that navigating this year’s highly correlated, macro-driven environment has been difficult. Allocation and stock selection decisions have borne scant reward as risky assets have moved in tandem and longer-term themes have yet to play out. Nevertheless, there … Continue reading
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Eliminating the Noise |
With recession fears receding for the moment, the imminent riskto stock markets and the economy appears to be a European banking crisis brought on by a disorderly Greek default. While the news and possible outcomes seem to change on a … Continue reading
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Recap of Q3 Market Activity |
Stocks faltered in the third quarter and have now declined for five consecutive months. The S&P 500 suffered its worst quarterly loss since the fourth quarter of 2008, as investors were unnerved by a stalling global economy, no resolution to … Continue reading
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Are Markets Priced for Recession? |
What a difference a quarter makes! A few months ago the U.S. economy appeared to be simply going through a soft patch. Now the perceived risk of recession has increased, brought on by the European mess, our own debt problems, … Continue reading
Sell in May and Go Away?
Sell in May and go away? The old adage would have served investors well the past few years, as stocks fell into summer swoons in 2010 and 2011 when the economy showed signs of softness. There is a decent historical … Continue reading →