A 1997 dark comedy starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert DeNiro, “Wag the Dog” was a film in which a Hollywood director and a spin-doctor collude to fabricate a war in order to distract voters from a presidential sex-scandal. Hilarity ensues. Of course, the irony was that the movie was released just two months before an actual sex-scandal erupted.
Market signals have been decidedly mixed thus far into the year. By this time a year ago, the S&P 500 had already returned 5%. Today, in early May, the S&P 500 is down fractionally, while volatility and bond yields are up.
Our market Outlooks over recent quarters have offered clients our views into topical issues affecting interest rates, economics, and asset prices. We have also endeavored to introduce topics of interest less directly linked to current market conditions (recently, technology valuations and Behavioral Finance). This quarter, for a discussion of Bitcoin and other “cryptocurrencies”.
Our Summer Outlook comes a bit late this year as we were traveling in the weeks after July 4th. Our itinerary included the San Francisco area, the Washington DC area, Castle Rock and Colorado Springs.
We wrap-up our three-part series on Behavioral Finance in this issue of the Outlook with a discussion of Emotional Biases, which often adversely affect investors’ outcomes. This discussion and the tie-in with Sir Isaac Newton is found in the second half of this quarter’s Outlook.
Greetings this New Year from our new office facilities in Westborough, MA. We hope you will find time to stop in if you are in the area!
CCR Wealth Management’s Outlook communication seeks to update our clients on market conditions currently affecting or which may affect asset values and investment performance.