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Capital Markets Review

July 16th, 2014 by John Anderson – Be the first to comment
Posted in Capital Market Review, Investing
 

Every quarter we publish our Capital Markets Review for the benefit of our clients and others.  We believe that markets work, and as managers we add value through a deep understanding of our clients and their needs.  Then we  implement a portfolio designed specifically to meet them.

2014 Q2

In keeping with our philosophy, the review provides detailed information about the global markets we use to build portfolios. It begins with a global overview and includes a timeline of events over the previous quarter.  The review then features the returns of various stock and bond asset classes in the US and international markets.

Read More: 2014 Q2 Capital Markets Review

 

 

Standard Disclosure:
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which investment(s) may be appropriate for you, consult your financial advisor prior to investing. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Investing involves risk including loss of principal.
 
 

How to be a Successful Investor

3 Things SMART Investors do Differently

January 26th, 2012 by John Anderson – Be the first to comment
Posted in How to be a Successful Investor, Investing, Successful
 

How to be a Successful Investor - 3 Things Smart Investors do DifferentlySuccess can be an arbitrary term meaning different things to different people. However, all of us want to be considered successful.  Especially as an investor. For me, being successful is simply meeting your goals.  The take away form that is: you have to have goals!  More on that in a minute.

When it comes to our wealth and investing, we all invest for different reasons.  Those reasons might be saving for retirement, sending kids to college, or supporting our favorite charity. However most find that successful investing is elusive at best.  The research firm Dalbar performs an annual survey of investor returns over the preceding 20 year period and the results paint a dismal picture.

The survey shows that most investors fail to even come close to the returns generated by the market indexes themselves. For example, the most recent survey, covering 1990 to 2010, shows that the average investor earned an annualized return of just 3.83% while the S&P 500 returned 9.14% annualized for the same 20 year period.  That’s a lot of change left on the table.

Let me put this into perspective.  Say you invested $10,000 in 1990 and you are the average investor earning an annualized return of 3.83%.  By 2010, your account would be worth a whopping $21,205.  Now, lets say you are a smart investor and managed to get market like returns.  That same $10,000 investment has turned into $57,501.  That’s an incredible $36,296 of missed opportunity all because you didn’t follow successful investing rules!  That’s a lot of money and its worth taking a closer look at the rules that can generate it!

Through this series on How to be a Successful Investor I’ll be exploring the reasons most investors fail and the simple things you can do to succeed.  While there are many reasons most investors fail there are some easy things that you can do today that will make all the difference tomorrow. In investing, as with most things in life, there are a few simple things that the most successful do differently.

read more »

Standard Disclosure:
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which investment(s) may be appropriate for you, consult your financial advisor prior to investing. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Investing involves risk including loss of principal.
 
 

Sovereign Debt Ratings and Stock Returns — Does it Matter?

September 27th, 2011 by John Anderson – Be the first to comment
Posted in Investing, Market Turmoil
 

In early August, Standard & Poor’s downgraded US government debt from a top-rated AAA to AA+.1 In the weeks preceding the event, some market observers expected a downgrade to result in higher interest rates and lower stock returns.

After the downgrade, yields on US government securities fell across the term spectrum as investors around the world fled to the safe haven of US bonds. US stocks experienced negative returns in the following weeks but logged positive performance from the day of the downgrade to month end.2

These events raise questions about whether changes in sovereign debt ratings impact the financial markets. The short answer is that results are mixed, and that many other factors affect a country’s cost of capital and stock market returns.

read more »

Standard Disclosure:
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which investment(s) may be appropriate for you, consult your financial advisor prior to investing. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Investing involves risk including loss of principal.
 
 

Volatility — The Retirement Killer

August 20th, 2011 by John Anderson – Be the first to comment
Posted in Investing, Market Turmoil, Volatility
 

Volatility refers to how much stock prices vary over a given time frame, usually a year. The current renewed volatility in financial markets is reviving a lot of unwelcome feelings among many investors—feelings of anxiety, fear, and a sense of powerlessness. These are completely natural responses. Acting on those emotions, though, can end up doing more harm than good.

At its core, the increase in market volatility is an expression of uncertainty. Nobody knows what’s going to happen next. The sovereign debt strains in the US and Europe, together with renewed worries over financial institutions and fears of another recession, are leading market participants flee to what they consider to be less risky assets.

The problem for most investors with a long range-purpose, such as retirement, is that the huge swings in the market can wreak havoc on your portfolio if you’re not prepared.   The events of 2008 left many Americans wondering if they are ever going to be able to retire. Now, with the markets continuing to churn and memories of huge losses fresh in the minds of investors, many are looking for a safe place to park their money while still needing it to grow.

read more »

Standard Disclosure:
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which investment(s) may be appropriate for you, consult your financial advisor prior to investing. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Investing involves risk including loss of principal.
 
 

These Are the Times that Try Men’s Souls…

August 5th, 2011 by John Anderson – Be the first to comment
Posted in Investing, Market Turmoil
 

Perhaps the situation is not as dire as they were when Thomas Paine penned those words in 1776.  However, with the U.S. stock market falling for eight of the past nine days and dropping 8% during the past week, these are certainly times which test our tolerance to look past the short term. After yesterday’s 5% drop in the S&P 500, the index is now down for the year, and phrases such as “market turmoil” and “global sell-off” are dominating the media outlets.  It is the skilled investor who can stick to her long-term plan in the face of short-term pain.

As a fellow investor, I understand the uncertainty you’re feeling.  We certainly don’t like to see our portfolios fall. We here at Cypress Wealth are paying close attention to the events that are causing a stock market sell-off unseen since the financial crisis of 2008.

Yet our advice to you is: take a deep breath, stay calm, and keep your emotions in check. Restraint can be difficult, but successful investing requires it. In times like these it is important to keep our long-term focus and remember that we are investors and not speculators.  In my opinion, the recent and dramatic sell off is driven more by fear than any real data.  While none of us have a crystal ball and no one can predict the immediate future, there are plenty of reasons to look past the current conditions.  As our last earnings season showed us, most U.S. companies are sitting on solid books with large piles of cash.  The economy while not on fire, is showing slow and signs of growth and will muddle through over the next several months.

read more »

Standard Disclosure:
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which investment(s) may be appropriate for you, consult your financial advisor prior to investing. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Investing involves risk including loss of principal.
 
 

Seven Headlines to Beat the Gloom

August 4th, 2011 by John Anderson – Be the first to comment
Posted in Outside the Flags
 

Debt crises, sovereign risks, double dips and banking strains: Page One headlines can make for depressing reading these days. But being a smart news consumer—and smart investor—means keeping an eye on the lesser headlines. Here are seven you may not have seen:

  • Robust Growth in Germany Pushes Prices—Analysts see a strong chance that German inflation will head towards 3 per cent by the end of the year against a backdrop of robust growth in Europe’s biggest economy. (Reuters, July, 27, 2011)
  • Brazil Domestic Demand Still Strong—The Economist Intelligence Unit says economic growth in Brazil surprisingly picked up speed in the first quarter, challenging the government’s efforts to cool the expansion. (EIU, July 6, 2011)
  • Japan Retail Sales Top Estimates—Japan’s retail sales rose 1.1 per cent in June, exceeding all economists’ forecasts and adding to signs the economy is bouncing back from an initial post-disaster plunge. (Bloomberg, July 28, 2011) read more »
Standard Disclosure:
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which investment(s) may be appropriate for you, consult your financial advisor prior to investing. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. Investing involves risk including loss of principal.