It wasn't all bad news. Small cap value indexes rose around 3 - 4%. For those keeping track, these types of stocks are now up well over 50% since the large cap indexes hit the skids. That's a pretty big move... for stocks that aren't really growing earnings, broadly speaking.
The Conservative portfolio reflects the areas of the world financial markets in which we feel an investor can safely earn a yield with some opportunity for appreciation. We are weighting toward out-of-favor areas like foreign and high-yield bonds, and passing on areas that are traditionally a larger part of a low-risk portfolio (like longer-term US government bonds). We feel those areas have run up to the point where the future potential is weak.
Is it me, or does it seem like the Dow has been kicking around 10,000 forever? Forever actually started in 1999 when the Dow first broke 10,000. It's been kicking around in the 9,000 - 11,000 range ever since.
