"So goes January, So goes the Market"
I'm not a believer in market axioms, but the most common is "So goes January, So goes the Market". January is off to a blistering 3% start give or take. While I have absolutely no targets, or idea where the market will go this year I see a few things that maybe are not talked about correctly by those who comment.
First, there has been a lot of banter about how there is less cash available to invest than report (known as cash on the sidelines). My RIA took in more cash due to bonuses, savings etc in the last month than ever. Along with a ton of Municipal redemptions that typically occur at the end of year, we are working to deploy those assets.
We are buying the market at this level because it is right for our investment philosophy of putting money to work with a 10 year or longer horizon. The sole new fund we've added is an interesting ETF called Ark Innovation (ARKK) (must disclaim that this is not a recommendation simply reporting what we are using in our portfolios). What I've observed is the amount of disrupters entering the economy. This is not based on value, but the fact that they are revolutionizing, much like MSFT and AAPL did today's way we do things. From Tesla to Lending Tree to Salesforce, these companies are changing the way we live.
We are still using direct and mezzanine lenders for yield and some levered closed end funds for tax free. Those you'll need to talk to us about.
The economy is rolling along, I expect the Fed to be on hold because it's an election year. There was a disturbing study conducted by FINRA (pushed in my view by the banks) suggesting we roll back reporting of bond trades from 15 minutes to 48 hours to give the banks the ability to sell their positions before the population knows they were purchased. This foolish rollback of transparency is one of the dumbest, lobby directed, ideas I've seen in 40 years. Leave it to the regulators to enact rules that are anti competitive and anti consumer.
Any questions please call me at 561-847-3596