It is normal for the stock market (in this case defined as the S&P 500) to experience intra-year declines. To wit: From the all time highs it set early in 2020, the S&P 500’s deep 34% decline in March.
And while stating that the stock market goes up and down is not at all profound, in this context it has a lot of meaning and important context. Just how common are these intra-year declines?
Put differently:
And while there are still three weeks until we turn the page on 2020 (HOORAY!), the tremendous swing we have experienced since the above-mentioned huge losses in March to the 15.5% gain through yesterday will likely make history as the largest stock market intra-year reversal in history. Did anyone see this coming?
Most of us continue to reel from and deal with a myriad of COVID-19-related challenges, but at Towerpoint Wealth we feel the light of optimism at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter, and anticipate:
- A measured return to a post-pandemic normal by mid-2021, due largely to Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca’s vaccines that offer up to 95% protection against COVID-19
- With recounts and litigation options virtually exhausted, election uncertainty finally drawing to a close
- The Fed’s unwavering commitment to keeping interest rates extremely low, and being extremely “accommodative” to stimulating economic growth
- The slowly brightening prospect of additional fiscal stimulus from Congress
- A surge in construction and demand for residential real estate
- According to Goldman Sachs, global GDP is expected to grow by 5.3%, and unemployment is expected to decline by 5.3%, in 2021
In summary, while things certainly feel and look bleak right now, there are many reasons for cautious optimism heading into next year. To quote A Wealth of Common Sense:
The stock market can look like a raging lunatic in the short-term but that doesn’t mean you have to invest like a raging lunatic as well.
…not panicking, even when stocks are down big, remains one of the best investment strategies on the planet.
What’s Happening at TPW?
Please help us welcome our new Client Service Specialist, Michelle Venezia! We feel fortunate to add Michelle to our Towerpoint Wealth family, as she brings over 30 years of wealth management industry and operations experience to TPW. Our President, Joseph Eschleman, Director of Operations, Lori Heppner, and Director of Research and Analytics, Nathan Billigmeier, are all keenly aware of Michelle’s skills and experience, having worked side-by-side with her for a number of years at Wells Fargo Advisors.
Michelle is a huge Denver Broncos fan, and enjoys traveling and wine tasting when not spending time at home with her two “fur babies,” Sissy and Mr. Blue. Please call (916-405-9140) or email her (mvenezia@towerpointwealth.com) with any service-related questions or needs, or simply to offer her a warm TPW welcome!
Michelle’s official signing day!
Lori and Michelle, deeply involved in a training session.
Decorating the office for the holidays!
TPW Service Highlight – Cash Management Consulting
Holding cash provides safety, stability, and liquidity / immediate availability (a.k.a. “dry powder“), or in other words, peace of mind. On the other hand, in today’s ultra-low interest rate environment, holding too much cash can be extremely unproductive, as most banks and credit unions are paying next-to-nothing in interest to account holders.
Towerpoint Wealth can help you make intelligent decisions regarding holding and managing your cash balances, working to maximize the interest you are receiving, while aiming to maintain the benefit of the “emergency blanket” that cash provides. In addition to providing clients with customized due diligence on the highest yielding local and national checking, savings, and money market accounts (and CD rates), we also leverage partners such as MaxMyInterest and Reich and Tang, as well as help clients evaluate cash equivalent exchange traded fund (ETF) strategies such as PIMCO’s MINT and First Trust’s FTSM. All of these can potentially put consistent additional interest into your pocket. Reach out to us by clicking HERE to discuss your circumstances further.
Investment return and principal value will fluctuate with most cash equivalent strategies, so fund shares may be worth more or less than their original cost when sold. Past performance is no guarantee of future results, and most cash equivalent strategies are not FDIC insured.
Chart of the Week
Despite the ugly-sounding acronym, FAANG stocks (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google) have earned significant attention his year – understandable, considering their performance has had a substantial influence on the overall return of the stock market in 2020.
The chart below is a microcosm of this FAANG influence – Apple’s $2.1 trillion market capitalization (a common measure of the size of a company) is more than double the size of the “market cap” of the entire energy sector!
As always, we sincerely value our relationships and partnerships with you, as well as your trust and confidence in us here at Towerpoint Wealth. We encourage you to reach out to us at any time (916-405-9140, info@towerpointwealth.com) with any questions, concerns, or needs you may have. The world continues to be an extremely complicated place, and we are here to help you properly plan for and make sense of it.
– Joseph, Jonathan, Steve, Lori, Nathan, Matt, and Michelle
