Monthly Investment Updates
What you need to know
April Monthly Update 2023
In this monthly note, we consider both the bull and bear case for equities. We also highlight why our focus remains on controlling what we can control by being disciplined about our systematic investing process. Focusing on a repeatable process, and not short-term outcomes, is how we will achieve the long-term strategic goals for our clients.
Monthly Update March 2023
In this Monthly Note, we look at the current environment as a good news/bad news scenario and discuss the merits of systematic investing through the framework of risk management and timeframe selection.
Monthly Update February 2023
In this month’s note we discuss our own refrain – “first time in a while” – which captures how we are increasing exposure in certain asset classes for the first time in many months (or years). Using our systematic investing process helps us remain adaptive and nimble, eliminates our “memory” of the distant past, and focuses us on what is happening in the moment
Monthly Update January 2023
In this Monthly Note, we discuss our systematic investing process in the context of 2022’s market environment. While the short-term destination is out of our hands, we think we have more control over the long-term outcome and the ride to get there. In our estimation, utilizing a rules-based process provides investors with a more pleasant experience and path.
Monthly Update December 2022
In our view, the incredible thing about being consistently good is that if you can manage it for a long enough period, you often accomplish something truly great. For example, consistently beating a benchmark in a way that is behaviorally- and tax-friendly for clients allows them to maximize their financial potential. Coupling that with a robust process for planning and managing relationships allows an advisor to build a tremendous business.
Monthly Update November 2022
Despite the increases in October, major indexes year-to-date continue to repeat the same patterns of new lows followed by lower highs. Until this cycle is broken, our research and systematic investing rules tell us that moving equity exposure back to even our baseline allocations is simply too much risk for the potential reward.
When you are exposed to falling asset prices and have no plan for how to respond, years like 2022 can be agonizing. That’s typical of bear markets.
Monthly Update October 2022
Bear market or countertrend rallies are common, and when they happen, they can be considerable in magnitude, particularly as the bear market persists. As a systematic investing asset manager, this data is both anecdotal and medicinal. We are happy to sit out these rallies until a rising trend forms, especially if it means protecting capital when the rally ends and new lows occur.
Monthly Update September 2022
In a financial services world where many make a living by selling their thoughts and opinions about the future, we find it liberating to proclaim that we’re the opposite. We don’t make predictions, and we celebrate that fact. Our approach is different, and this difference tends to show up most when discussing market tops and bottoms.
Monthly Update August 2022
In this month’s Note, we continue to make the case for patience relative to increasing equity exposure. In our view, the historical cost of investing when an asset is in downtrends outweighs the benefit over the long run. We describe our current defensive positioning and discuss how, for us, inaction equates to taking an offensive posture.
