Market Overview Quite frankly, we cannot ask for much more than what we saw this quarter. While bonds were slightly down over the last 90 days, stocks across the board were positive, some in a very big way. It seems to have happened quietly without much fanfare. Of course this plays to our biases – surely we would have strong feelings about the markets if US large cap stocks were down 10% in 3 months, but we don’t give much credit to things moving up in the same magnitude. If this quarter repeated itself indefinitely into the future we would all be wealth beyond our wildest dreams in a matter ..read more

Market Overview This was not a great quarter, to be fair. Stocks and bonds across the board were down. This happens! Sometimes we are up, sometimes we are down. Over 90 days, we were down. But it has been a very good 12 months. It has even been an especially good 12 months for international stocks, with the MSCI EAFE up 25.65%, handily outpacing US large and small caps. Bonds also struggled of late, as rates climbed over the summer. But again, over one year bond returns are positive. A difficult period in the short term, yes. But difficult is normal. And I know you’re tired of hearing me say t ..read more

Market Overview The second quarter in the markets this year has been strangely, wonderfully quiet. And as a result, we saw solid gains from many asset classes and most of us didn’t notice. Remember the banking crisis from just a few months ago? Gone, poof, in a whisper. This, of course, is what markets do. They scare us, then those scares die off and we get back to normal business operations while no one is looking. And so quietly, while everyone was still a little unsettled, we had ourselves a very nice quarter. US large cap stocks led the way, and we saw modest gains in international and sma ..read more

Market Overview The biggest financial news de jour is around a seemingly-lurking banking crisis that likely never was and never is to be, which is already fading into memory. We had ourselves a nice little scare for a few days, and as is nearly always the case, a little time and distance makes these moments seem immaterial. Each time it is hard to remember that is the most likely outcome! Plenty of every day investors and talking heads were convincing themselves we were running into Financial Crisis 2.0: The SVB Edition. So let’s talk about banking for a moment and glean a takeaway or two from ..read more

Year-end is usually a great time for reflection and review of the last twelve months, but the end of 2022 signifies a major milestone for me personally and this business as the end of the 10th full year of my practice here at Bason. Ten year is a good chunk of time and a great deal has happened over that period. In 2012, investors were still shaking off the impacts of the financial crisis, and certainly no one was dreaming about getting rich quick by investing in fake internet money. In 2012 Google was still Google (not Alphabet) and Facebook was still Facebook (not Meta). In 10 years we’ve se ..read more

Market Overview Well there isn’t any being cute about it anymore – 2022 continues to be a painful year for investors of any stripe. It has also been an atypically bad time for diversified and balanced investors. It is a rare market environment when stocks and bonds fall together, and a uniquely 2022 environment when the baseline yields for bonds were near zero when rates started to rise. As a result, stalwart “60/40” portfolios are taking it on the chin. The Vanguard Balanced Index, for example, is down -20.78% year to date through 9/30/22. Where bonds would normally help to materially offset ..read more

Market Overview It has been a rough and tumble start to the year for both stock and bond markets, domestically and internationally. Concerns over rising inflation and the Russian invasion of Ukraine sent energy prices higher, interest rates higher and stock and bond prices lower through early March. While we have seen some small signs of bounceback in the last few weeks, net figures year to date are negative generally across the board. US Large and Small cap stocks are both down single digits, alongside international stocks. Bonds are also off as longer term rates jumped. It’s worth noting tha ..read more

Market Overview Stocks were broadly positive in the fourth quarter with large cap US stocks roaring back after lagging small caps earlier this year. After a full year, we’re looking a very similar picture: stocks generally up across the board, with the largest US companies leading the way yet again. During the fourth quarter markets seemed locked in an unending tug of war, from fears over the Omicron variant of COVID-19, to hope of massive federal stimulus, to disappointment over lack of said stimulus and on and on. As with markets long-term, it was two steps forward and one step back. Interna ..read more

Market Overview Markets were up and then down again in the third quarter this year, resulting in nearly flat returns over the last three months for some sectors and modest losses for emerging markets and small cap US stocks. One year returns are still very strong coming out of late 2020, boosted by a very strong first half of this year. It is easy to get worked up about what is happening in the markets in the short run but rarely useful to make productive investment decisions based on any current news cycle. Markets have performed exceptionally well off of the lows from Spring 2020 but that do ..read more

Market Overview Should I just re-post what I wrote for the first quarter? Markets were up strongly again this quarter. The S&P 500 was up another 8.17% in the last three months, now up 14.41% year to date. Small caps were up again as well for the quarter and are now up an astonishing 61.53% over the last twelve months. International stocks have also been strong over the last year (29.45%), and emerging markets have been positive as well (38.14%). Across the board, stock markets have gained. Bonds have bounced back some this quarter, but are still slightly down in 2021 as interest rates ros ..read more