Fed Rate Cuts and Solid Earnings Overcome Rising Economic Anxiety
By John Lau October 1, 2024 – Markets were volatile in the third quarter as investors faced political turmoil and a slowing of the economy, but the return of Fed rate cuts and solid corporate earnings helped to offset those political and economic anxieties, and the S&P 500 hit another new all-time high and finished […]
Recent Thoughts on the Fed Rate Cut
September 30, 2024 Chief Investment Officer Stuart Katz and Chief Economist Jeanette Garretty discuss their thoughts on the most recent Fed rate cut. Disclosures Investment advisory services offered through Robertson Stephens Wealth Management, LLC (“Robertson Stephens”), an SEC-registered investment advisor. Registration does not imply any specific level of skill or training and does not constitute […]
Quiet Week / Short Note
September 23, 2024 Good morning, As the dust settles on the Fed’s larger-than-expected rate cut and accompanying projections last week, we enter a relatively quiet week ahead. The economic calendar is light outside Friday’s PCE report (Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index). It is not a top-tier economic report, but it will get attention in a […]
Kicked Like An Empty Can
September 19, 2024 Good morning, Last Thursday’s Morning Note highlighted the deep dichotomy between the stock and bond markets over a recession developing soon. The no-recession bulls with stock market participants and equity market strategists all calling for a 50bps cut on one side, and the hard-landing, recession-may-already-be-here bears, a camp represented by bond market participants, economists, and […]
Last FOMC Meeting Before Election
September 16, 2024 Good morning, Stocks staged an impressive recovery last week. Interestingly, the gains in the major indexes (SPX +4.06%, NASDAQ +5.98%, Russell 2000 +4.39%, Int’l Developed +1.21%, EM +.80%) were almost the perfect mirror-image of the losses sustained respectively the week prior. Volatility is not taking a break. The big event of the […]
Diametrically Opposed
September 12, 2024 Good morning, September, the worst performing month of the year for equities, got off to a rough start last week. Financial news services marched out the perma-bears, and “recession” in internet searches reached a new reaction high. Just when everyone knows the market is going to fall, the market does what it […]
September Already Living Up To Its Reputation
September 9, 2024 Good morning, September’s first week looks a lot like August’s start – down hard for stocks and yields (which means bonds rallied). The uncomfortable difference, however, is that there is no loosely related global “unwind” like August to blame for all the selling last week. The S&P 500 Index (SPX) was down […]
Are We In A Change In Trend?
September 5, 2024 Good morning, It seems counterintuitive for long-term (quarters/years) investors to concern themselves with micro (hours/days) moves in the market. I believe long-term investor success is dependent on portfolios being aligned with long-term market trends. Long-term trends (the simplest examples being bull and bear markets) are all born as short-term trends. The art […]
Welcome Back
September 3, 2024 Good morning, Welcome back! I hope you all had a nice end-of-summer opportunity to recharge. As many of you know, we spent the end of summer moving and we can report that we are happily ensconced in our new home in West Palm Beach, FL. Many have asked, retiring? Hardly, I’m excited […]
NVDA Week
August 26, 2024 Good morning, The new week begins with stocks and bonds following through on last Friday’s Jerome Powell-inspired price action, with markets once again pushing the envelope on how much easing they are prepared to discount. All Powell said was that the “time has come” to adjust policy and there are now 106 […]
August 2024 Monthly Letter
The following is your August 2024 Robertson Stephens Monthly Performance Report. August was unusually eventful for investors right from the start and dashed any hopes of a late summer lull. Disappointing U.S. economic data, together with a surprise interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan, sparked a sharp sell-off across the global equity markets. Panic selling […]
Life Design Service
“We’ve had the pleasure of working with Frank and his team for over 11 years. During this decade plus, we’ve experienced many life-changing events. During this time, our kids graduated from high school and then from college; we sold and purchased a home, changed jobs, transitioned to new careers, and entered into semi-retirement….” Read more. […]