Wealth Management Blog | WrapManager | market perspective (2)

Main Management Reviews Q1 Market Volatility and Its Impact on the Uncertainty Index

Posted by WrapManager's Investment Policy Committee

April 12, 2018

Taking A Look Back at Major Market Milestones of First Quarter 2018

The first quarter of 2018 was anything but a continuation of the market behavior we saw in 2017. After historically low volatility and positive total returns for each of the 12 months in 2017, January continued the trend of higher markets with nearly historic lows in volatility. Then came February. Registering volatility levels below 15 for the month of January, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) spiked 116% on February 5, the highest daily move ever recorded. On that same day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 1,175 points, or -4.6%, its largest single-day point decline in history and the worst day performance-wise since August 2011. The volatility spike was so violent that it even resulted in the shutdown of a widely-traded inverse VIX product.

JP Morgan Examines Economic Growth and Employment

March 22, 2018

JP Morgan's weekly update offers investors an at-a-glance summary of economic news and reports.This week's update looks at: • Economic growth • Corporate profits • Employment • Changes at The Fed Read an excerpt from this week's update below, or download JP Morgan's complete economic commentary. [+] Read More

Stock Market Volatility: Could These Be Future Considerations for Investors?

February 16, 2018

Money Managers continue to reflect on the market volatility from last week, lessons learned, and consider what's to come. This week's post is another compilation of articles from three different money managers. Lord Abbett's day-by-day recap of last week's market ups and downs. Senior Portfolio Manager Bob Doll shares Nuveen's outlook on market volatility and other factors investors should consider, while Federated Investors focuses in on dividend investing in 2018. Lord Abbett and Company Nuveen Asset Management Federated Investors [+] Read More

Updated: JP Morgan Guide to the Markets for 1Q 2018

February 15, 2018

Updated with 4Q 2017 Data JP Morgan's updated Guide to the Markets for the first quarter of 2018 now includes financial data for 4Q 2017, including: S&P500 Earnings Per Share (EPS) Corporate earnings: capex vs. payouts Cash flow and corporate debt for S&P 500 companies This 71-page guide is full of charts that provide key insights into the labor market, housing, corporate debt and other key financial topics. Download J.P. Morgan's updated Guide to Markets for 1Q 2018, or continue reading to learn more about the information it contains. [+] Read More

How Inflation and Interest Rate Fears Could Have Been to Blame for Recent Market Volatility

February 8, 2018

Inflation worries caused by a single economic report have led to increasing concern that the economy may be overheated. A rapidly expanding economy could lead the Fed to increase interest rates at a faster than expected pace. The January Unemployment Report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed an increase in average hourly wages of 9 cents, pushing the annual increase to 2.9% from 2.6%. A couple points of caution on this report are needed. First, it is possible that some or even most of the wage increase is due to 18 states raising their minimum wage as of January 1st. If that is the case, this will likely be a one-time bump in average wages rather than a sustained trend higher. Second, there could be a temporary weather impact on this report (which won’t repeat once the weather gets warmer). Some workers were not able to work full-time because they couldn’t make it to work on certain bad weather days. If these workers were lower paid workers, that would push up the aggregate average hourly wage for January because the lower paid workers worked fewer hours. We’ll need to wait for the February, March, and April reports to see if the increase in average hourly wages is a trend or if the January report is just a blip on the radar. [+] Read More

Money Manager Commentary: Why Was the Market So Volatile This Week?

February 8, 2018

Money Managers have had plenty to say about the market volatility that started last week. That’s why this week we’re doing something different. The post below is a compilation of five different commentaries. As usual, you can read the excerpt below, or click the link to download the full version of each of the individual commentaries. Keep reading to see what the following money managers say about this week’s volatility. Lord Abbett and Company Cambiar Investors Nuveen Asset Management Federated Investors ClearBridge Investments [+] Read More

JP Morgan Guide to the Markets for 1Q 2018

January 11, 2018

JP Morgan Quarterly Guide to the Markets JP Morgan’s Guide to the Markets for the first quarter of 2018 is now available for your review. The comprehensive 71-page guide includes 65 pages of charts illustrating: Trends across equities, the economy, the fixed income sector and international investing Returns and valuations by style and by sector Fixed income yields and returns Annual returns and intra-year declines of the S&P 500 Investor allocation by region The power of compounding The retirement savings gap [+] Read More

JP Morgan Recaps Year-End Economic Data

December 28, 2017

JP Morgan's weekly update offers a snapshot of changes in the economy and potential implications for investors. This week's investment themes include: • Earnings growth, coupled with slowly rising interest rates, makes stocks look attractive in relative terms. • High-yield bonds look more attractive than Treasuries, but a diversified approach to fixed income investing seems appropriate given Fed tightening. • International exposure is warranted given growth prospects abroad, and a weaker dollar can enhance foreign returns. [+] Read More

Dorsey Wright Evaluates Low Volatility, Global Investments

October 19, 2017

The lack of volatility is puzzling considering current events... This year, one of the big market stories has been the lack of volatility. Pullbacks have been incredibly shallow as the market has been grinding upward this year. As of the end of the quarter, it had been about 10 months since the S&P 500 had experienced a 3% drawdown or larger. The extremely low volatility is bringing more investors back to stocks, and making investors less fearful of equities. These are both good things for momentum, which is performing well this year. Read the entire Dorsey Wright Q3 market commentary here. [+] Read More

JP Morgan Guide to the Markets for 4Q 2017 Released

October 12, 2017

JP Morgan Reviews Investing Opportunities & Rate Expectations JP Morgan’s Guide to the Markets for fourth quarter 2017 is now available. This comprehensive, 60+ page guide includes insightful charts illustrating: Corporate profits and financials Fixed income sector returns Local investing and global opportunities Federal funds rate expectations [+] Read More