Equity investors should be plenty thankful this season as cooks stuff not only their turkeys, but also the forks of anyone brave enough to stand in front. Markets have been blessing portfolios for quite some time and there seems to be increasing confidence that the blessing will continue.
Why would anyone want Yellen to leave? The monetary policy she’s directed since her reign as Fed chair has fueled an uninterrupted rise in asset prices. And bond market volatility has remained muted even as durations and defaults have risen. Returns accrued to those who spend have been exceptional. Returns to savers have been at best meager. No one will argue against the feeling that we are late in the cycle, but we have been late in the cycle for a couple of years now. Tax cuts and world growth could extend it even further.
But, the day will come when the Fed will need to make a tough decision. When stress comes to the markets, will they support the Treasury market with bond purchases or will they continue to normalize rates in an effort to curtail the excesses in credit markets? Over the past year, public and private markets have received a blessing we should all be thankful for. With Thanksgiving behind us, let’s hope markets continue to embrace a spirit of giving.
SCI HIGHLIGHTS
Focus: Upside Potential
Our rigorous investment analysis has some key features that make us unique. Today we focus on one element, Upside Potential.
Each quarter, we measure how often and how far above a return objective a fund’s returns are likely to occur. Upside Potential, a term coined by Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman, captures investors’ perception of reward-concerning gains as opposed to risk-concerning losses.
Kahneman, a behavioral psychologist, was influential in discovering the behavioral components present in individuals when making decisions in an environment of uncertainty. Discovered through his work on prospect theory, investors are more concerned at the margin with losses rather than gains.
Weekly SCI Webinar
We host a weekly lunch and learn online webinar to answer questions about the Salt Creek platform and to provide training on the best practices for the services available on the advisor portal. Please join me for a laid back and open session on Salt Creek and the new services available.
Every Tuesday starting 10/3/2017 @ 12pm CDT
Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android:
Click here for Conference Login
Meeting ID: 325 159 0655
Dial In Audio: 669-900-6833
LaSalle St. Investment Advisors, LLC
940 N. Industrial Dr.
Elmhurst, IL 60126
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