by | Mar 14, 2020 | Market Commentary | 0 comments

Along with you and investors all over the world, we have been watching the COVID-19 situation as it evolves, as well as other economic factors that may affect your financial future. 

Each passing day brings new developments, but our top priority remains helping our clients sleep at night.  We also want to be a voice of calm amidst the chaos, so please feel free to share this email with family and friends.

Here are some notes based on our recent actions as active, tactical money managers:

  • As of Thursday’s close (3/12/2020), the S&P500 was down approximately 22.9% year to date (Fastrack data).  Most of our accounts have been scaled back in risk since February, so to date, our clients have not been seeing these kinds of market losses. 
  • We continue to monitor and make trades as we believe are needed and prudent.  For example, this past week we have begun shifting money out of bonds as safety assets begin to show some volatility.  We are continuing to navigate as the situation changes.
  • Big picture, this is the kind of “black swan” event many of our strategies were created for.  We have systems and processes in place to scale back risk, more than we could have done in the past.  And certainly more than those with a “buy and hold” approach. 
  • The VIX (Volatility Index), which is a measure of expected market movement, has been understandably high with all the fear in the market now, but we believe this is not necessarily bad.  Spikes in the VIX can point to opportunities.  While we are not ready to jump into anything yet, we are currently positioned for these opportunities as they surface.

What you should do now:

  • Remember that when the market is this volatile, upswings can occur as swiftly as downturns, and volatility will likely continue in both directions for a little while. 
  • Keep yourself informed but remain calm.  Take a deep breath if you need to, and take a look at your accounts. It may or may not be as bad as you imagine. Then, talk to your advisor about your concerns and what may be prudent to do right now. 

Remember that you are not alone. Reach out to us anytime! We have conducted virtual meetings with clients for years now, so we are happy to meet with you virtually if that is more convenient and preferred.

As active money managers, not only do we have dynamic allocation strategies to help protect your money in turbulent times; we also have advisors who are trained in the behavioral and emotional parts of investing. 

We’re here for you. We have a process for helping clients through uncertainty and apprehension. This is a challenging time, but we take comfort in knowing that we have tools that can help clients navigate change and help our clients in exactly times like these.

Thank you for your partnership,