Monthly Archives: April 2013

For the first quarter of 2013, defensive sectors were the front runners as Health Care, Consumer Staples and Utilities were top quarterly performers. This took many by surprise as one would tend to believe that more economically sensitive sectors (Ex. Cyclicals) would be out in front of a market that was accelerating higher at a considerable speed. Alexandra Scaggs recently wrote in a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article entitled, “Stock Rally Strikes a Defensive Tone” that these three sectors are “…relatively insulated from the state of the economy; people will cut back on spending in tight times but not on medication, food or electric bills.” Perhaps this reveals the types of sectors that are positioned to perform better within a “plow-horse economy” or perhaps this is a result of the risk tolerance comfort level of many investors who re-entered the stock market during the first three months of the New Year. To this end, Scaggs wrote in the same WSJ article cited above that some investors seem to be, “…concerned about growth in the U.S. and abroad…searching for investments that will offer steady cash payouts as interest rates remain low.”Read more