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Category Archives: Asset allocation
Even During Stable Times, it Pays to Think About Volatility
As Memorial Day approaches, we pause to remember all the Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country. Thanks to these brave men and women, today residents of the United States are living in a time of …Read more
Oil ETFs 101
In preparing for an interview on Fox Business News regarding oil related Exchange-traded Funds (ETFs), I came across some interesting information on the current oil related products available that we thought appropriate to share. Given the dramatic rise in the price of Oil this year alone, coupled with the recognition that oil remains the lubricant that turns the global economic machine, one would be hard pressed to find an advisor or individual investor who isn't considering an oil oriented investment for their portfolios. ETFs have provided these investors with several different types of opportunities to add exposure to the energy sector, and oil in particular. However, as with other ETFs, the devil is in the details and investors need to conduct their due diligence and understand the structure of each available ETF before making an investment decision.Read more
What Happened to Saving for a Rainy Day?
According to the Wall Street Journal, U.S. consumer spending rose twice as fast as income in March of 2010 as personal savings dropped to its lowest level in 18 months. The Commerce Department reported, "Consumer spending increased by 0.6% from the prior month, likely lifted by government efforts to spur economic growth, but personal income rose just 0.3% on a weak labor market. As a result, the U.S. saving rate dropped to 2.7%, its lowest level since September 2008."Read more
Are the Equity Markets Poised for a Pause?
The global equity markets machine continued to churn full speed ahead in April as evidenced by the S&P 500's monthly advance of 1.25% and the DJIA's increase of 1.06%. As a result, the S&P 500 and the DJIA are now up 7.05% and 6.42% respectively thus far in 2010. This early 2010 gain stands on top of the meteoric rise that took place in the equity markets during the final three quarters of 2009. This situation has left many investors in a precarious state. On the one hand, they feel as though they may have missed out on a large part of the market recovery - which probably is true if one is only looking at the U.S. stock market (Large Cap companies in particular). On the other hand, they are growing more and more concerned that a pullback, or extended pause, in the equity markets is increasing in likelihood -which is probably also true especially considering the continuing difficulties that the P.I.I.G.S. countries (i.e. Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain) are presenting in terms of their own sovereign debt.Read more
Dow 11,000 – now what?
The DJIA has just crossed 11,000 - a significant milestone in the continuing recovery of this widely recognized U.S. blue-chip index. In fact, the last time the Dow closed above 11,000 was back on September 26, 2008. However, before everyone starts to uncork their champagne bottles, we, at Hennion & Walsh, would suggest that it is too soon to signal "all-clear" for the equity markets and too soon to declare an official end to this current U.S. recession.Read more