Blogs

With ongoing supply chain constrictions, international conflicts, and the resulting inflationary prices and potentially rising interest rates, it is an understatement to call the economic environment uncertain. As a result, it’s prudent to consider expanded investment options and seek wealth-management advice. The Federal Reserve is expected to increase rates in March to combat inflation, yet the Russian invasion of Ukraine may change its calculations in the event of a potential worldwide energy shock. Given these uncertainties, however, it’s still safe to say that the Fed is shifting policy...

Quarterly Market Review: Q1 2022 By: Paul Dickson, Director of Research and Mark Stevens, Chief Investment Officer The Reemergence of Risk If there was one overarching theme to the first quarter of this year, it was that risks, which seemed vanquished in an earlier era, have returned to plague us. With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a war is once again afflicting Europe. The prospects of returning to a world of divided spheres of influence and a retreat from globalization appear to be increasing. Inflation once seemed so well conquered that developed market Central Banks strained to lift price...

Quarterly Market Review: Q4 2021 By: Paul Dickson, Director of Research and Mark Stevens, Chief Investment Officer Shifting Gears Even as the pandemic continues to delay a full normalization of the global economy, the exit from emergency support has begun. Most fiscal and administrative efforts have waned, and global monetary authorities have moved on from protecting against the downside to worrying about inflation. The emerging theme is one of shifting gears away from stimulus and towards relative austerity and to relying on the private sector to take the lead as the engine of recovery...

Quarterly Market Review: Q3 2021 By: Paul Dickson, Director of Research and Mark Stevens, Chief Investment Officer Once More Unto The Brink! The quarter saw many worrisome headlines that could have caused significant consternation for market participants and did lead to some volatility and weakness towards the end of the quarter. Overall, however, the general stability of the markets was a testament to their fortitude. The US -- and Global -- Economy was on the brink of an extraordinary recovery until the Delta Variant of the Covid-19 Virus intervened. An ongoing survey of market economists...