The rally in stocks fizzled in March and bonds didn't offer much help as rates drifted up slightly. Foreign stocks performed better as the valuation gap — after years of underperformance to the U.S. stock market — may be attracting more money.

The interest rate increase that accelerated when President Trump won in November ended in December. Rate-sensitive investments across the board have performed well in recent weeks, pushing our Conservative portfolio up more than our Aggressive portfolio in January.

November was Donald Trump's month in the markets. Nobody saw him winning much less U.S. stocks going up in the wake, but weirdly many of the stocks that did well after the surprise Trump victory started doing so before the election. Maybe this oddity — which could be a mere coincidence — will show up in the fake news that permeates the conspiracy circles online. Talk about a bull market…

September was one of the dullest months in quite some time in the markets. The only broader fund categories up more than 3% where China and Japan funds. Most fund categories were within plus or minus 1%. Even in sector funds no category gained or lost over 5%.