Category: markets
2025 Market Commentary – Bull vs. Bear and Beyond
Like most investors, we have been impressed by the enduring strength of the U.S. economy and the overall performance of the market. Financial assets delivered another superb year in 2024, driven by resilient economic growth, declining inflation, and enthusiasm surrounding advances in artificial...
Interest Rate Planning Considerations
Interest rates have become a focal point for investors in the lead-up to the Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting earlier this week. Fed Chair Jerome Powell announced on Wednesday that the Fed will cut the federal funds rate by 0.50%, which marks the first rate reduction since 2020. Interest rates...
Portfolio Construction Considerations
“How will my account be invested?” At The Fiduciary Group, we believe a thoughtful response to this question begins with the creation and implementation of an Investment Policy Statement (IPS) for the client. The IPS serves as a framework for how the portfolio will be managed and takes into...
How Presidential Elections Can Affect the Stock Market
Election season is upon us, and one of the most frequent questions our team gets asked is, “How will the 2024 presidential election results affect markets?” While we appreciate that elections are emotionally charged events, it is important to remember that an investment portfolio is a long-term...
2024 Market Commentary - Bull vs. Bear
Like most investors, we were pleasantly surprised by the resilience of the economy and performance of the markets in 2023. A year ago, 80% of macroeconomists were predicting a recession for 2023, and investor sentiment was decidedly bearish following the poor performance for stocks in 2022, their...
Putting Your Cash To Work
In response to 11 Fed interest rate increases since March 2022, savers should reconsider the wisdom of “parking” cash in a traditional bank savings account and explore investment options that carry relatively low risk in today’s higher interest environment. The rise in interest rates offers...
Managing Risk
Since the birth of our nation, risk has been a fundamental component of our free market system. As fiduciary advisors, helping our clients prudently manage risks is a key part of our responsibility. The process of evaluating and managing risk is not a simple task, however, and over time various...
The Impact of the S&P Tech Industry Concentration
The technology industry has gained significant stock market influence since the widespread use of the internet in the mid-to-late 1990s. Many investors recall the initial "dot-com bubble" of the late 1990s, the highly speculative exuberance that followed from investors chasing fads, and the...
Understanding the Laws That Protect Your Assets
The failure of First Republic Bankthis week marked the third major bank collapse in the past two months, following the demise of Silicon Valley Bankand Signature Bank in March. Combined, these three institutions had roughly $530 billion in assets and represented the largest bank failures since...
Understanding Stock Ownership, Earnings, and Dividends
Recently, a well-informed client asked me: "If I own 5% of a company's stock, does that mean I get 5% of the earnings?" It's an interesting question that got me thinking about company earnings, dividends, and valuation dynamics. The short answer is that owning 5% of a company's stock does not...