The market seems to be moving up on a combination of low interest rates, an economy that isn't quite as weak as feared, and a hot market for smaller growth stocks.  ...read the rest of this article»

In May, lingering global stock and bond market fears evaporated like air conditioner condensation on hot asphalt. We even had a (hopefully) weather-induced  negative first quarter GDP figure. Previously lagging emerging markets rebounded while the S&P 500 gained over 2%. More surprising (to some) was a retreat in interest rates, pushing bond prices higher and likely playing a role in stock prices rising. ...read the rest of this article»

April was similar to March in that conservative investments outperformed growth. This again played well into our Conservative portfolio, which posted a 1.28% return in April. That beat the stock and bond markets and continued this year's nice streak. ...read the rest of this article»

There was particular strength in Utilities and Telecom (and value stocks in general) in March. We own these sectors in both of our portfolios. Interestingly healthcare - usually attractive to value oriented investors and those seeking safety (not including biotech) - was weak. We recently got out of healthcare because it has just had too many years of outperformance and the biotech area in particular was becoming volatile and too hot after very strong performance. ...read the rest of this article»

The seesaw is back. A market that was looking a little scary in January and early February rebounded strongly, leaving the stocks basically flat for the year (until, that is, the start of March when Russian mischief sent stocks plummeting anew). ...read the rest of this article»

The almost uninterrupted upward run in U.S. stocks ended in January, with a 3.5% drop in the S&P 500, a slide that so far is continuing into February. While hardly severe by historic standards, this was the worst month for stocks since May 2012 and we’re now down about 5% from all-time highs. ...read the rest of this article»

In hindsight, it was a year in which to invest wholeheartedly in U.S. stocks, the perfect cap to a multi-year trend of outperformance that began right about the time everyone gave up on America ...read the rest of this article»

2013 is turning out to be among the best calendar years for stocks ever. With November’s 3% rise in the S&P 500, we’re now up almost 29% for the year. But the excitement was mostly in U.S. stocks. Bonds sunk slightly and emerging market stocks dropped just over 2%. Larger foreign stocks also underperformed, up less than 1%.  ...read the rest of this article»

In October stocks went back to their old tricks and treats…see-sawing up and down on scary financial news but ultimately ending with a big gain. As the specter of global calamity resulting from a shutdown and defaulting U.S. Government fell to the wayside (at least for a few months…) the stock market sprang back to life, and is now up for the year about as much as the entire year of 2008 – a major rebound year for stocks after a sharp slide. ...read the rest of this article»

September’s portfolio performance was not expected - in what was a strong market for stocks our Aggressive portfolio beat the market, and Conservative portfolio came pretty close. ...read the rest of this article»