By: Matt Garrott “A good decision is based on knowledge, not numbers.” – Plato By now you have heard of the latest short squeeze. GameStop, a brick-and-mortar retail chain that sells video games and related items has found its way into national headlines. The company’s financials were so poor and its prospects so [...]
By: Matt Garrott What Happened in 2020 What could grab headlines away from the killing of a top Iranian general, a very public oil production dispute between OPEC and Russia, and even the Presidential election? The global pandemic was the top story of 2020 and continues into 2021. After taking hold in the [...]
US large cap equity markets hit all-time highs in November as the Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed 30,000 for the first time. These round numbers get easier to hit as the index values increase. The Dow’s increase from 10,000 in March 1999 to 11,000 in May 1999 was a 10% move. The increase from 29,000 [...]
By: Matt Garrott The S&P 500 gained 8.9% during the third quarter, putting its year-to-date return at 5.1%, while other broad stock indices gained between 4% and 9% for the quarter but remain in negative territory through the first nine months of 2020. A moderate asset allocation is likely up between 2 and [...]
By: Matt Garrott The current bull market is already four times as long as the last bear market. The last bear was merely a month old when it expired. The current bull market is 4 months old. Is this the real deal? Pre-pandemic, there was worry that the market was too expensive or [...]
By: Matt Garrott Not including dividends, the S&P 500 was down exactly 20% in the first quarter. It was up 19.95% in the second quarter. Down 20%, up 20%. If you think 2020 has been a joke of a year so far, it seems the stock market is in on it. This is [...]
By: Matt Garrott Before our monthly commentary, I’d like to address the question we’ve gotten most often: How are the folks at Fairway doing? It is humbling to be in your thoughts, especially in times like these. We are doing well and are fortunate to have been able to transition to a work-from-home [...]
By: Matt Garrott Did the month of April feel more like a year to you? The market might agree as stocks gained more in April than they do in the average year. The 12.8% gain is the best monthly return since 1974, but comes on the heels of March’s 12.4% decline. Back-to-back double [...]
By: Matt Garrott What Happened this Quarter The year in headlines started with the death of an Iranian General. Concerns that this would start World War III fizzled and the markets shrugged their shoulders as even oil markets barely flinched. Stories started circulating in January about a virus in China. The United States [...]
By: Matt Garrott February came to a turbulent end with the S&P 500 down 3% or more during three trading sessions last week. The S&P 500 was down 8.23% for the month and 8.27% for the year. The 10-year Treasury yield is under 1.13% as a global flight to safety pushed yields down [...]
