A week for the record books

February 29, 2020 | Charles Cook


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After a brutal week for stocks, markets expect a flurry of Fed rate cuts. But already low Treasury yields are only moving to new record lows.

We have been actively taking money out of the market PRIOR to the latest Coronavirus announcement that it has now shown up in Italy and South Korea. In January we trimmed well performing stocks and sold or reduced a number of US index funds and ETFs.  All of these names we sold more than a week ago. This week, we sold technology stocks that were up TREMENDOUSLY for our clients. WE ARE ACTIVELY MANAGING THIS VOLATILITY. From a money management perspective - this is when we have shown our value in the past and now is no different. It is easy to make money for clients in great markets, volatile markets are where we flourish and show our distinct unique strategic and active portfolio management.

We are monitoring market conditions and looking past this short term volatility. Yes, this is short term even if it lasts for 6 months. We are very comfortable with the allocation of our portfolios and are well prepared for a number of potential market scenarios and outcomes. Jeff and I believe it is very important for investors to maintain long term objectives as these short term movements will provide attractive buying opportunities. We have built a buy list and are starting to see tremendous opportunity in both yield and value.

We are now sitting at 25-30% cash, and are flat (performance) for the year (2020) when the market is down for same period.  We have built a buy list of both attractive yielding positions and value. When we see stabilization we will put the cash to work.  Please see our recent Global Insight Weekly for more information.  

Charles