Archive for category: Commentary

Try not to stress about news, politics, and issues we can’t control. Instead, focus on what you can do. Read. Nap. Spend time with family. Watch a good show. Go for a walk or get some sunlight on your skin.

Ok we will get back to the financial advice:

• Expect market volatility with lower returns.
• Spend less in economic downturns.
• Spend more but also save more during the good times.
• Consider part time work if you are retiring early or plan to do so.
• Engage with us on making sure your financial plan is as accurate as can be.
• Think and talk with us about how much risk you are comfortable taking with your investments; we have tools to model various scenarios for you.
• Believe in the process of investing; when you feel yourself faltering, compare your long-term investment returns to your bank accounts.

Shorepoint’s process is thoughtful, disciplined, and flexible. Please know that our team is working diligently to manage risk and returns as well as position your portfolio for the long term. While we see areas of overvaluation in both equities and bonds, the worries you read about in the press are mostly priced into the market. There are always reasons not to invest, but staying the course usually wins out. We believe that appropriate portfolio diversification amongst asset classes can help buffer your portfolio from the ups and downs of market volatility.

We prefer dividend-paying stocks to bonds, although having an allocation to bonds in portfolios is appropriate for diversification and to reduce overall volatility. The bond market, particularly government bonds, continue to be concerning, with interest rates at record lows and over $15 trillion in international government bonds trading at negative interest rates. We continue to diversify the fixed income portion of your portfolio in non-traditional bond sectors which rebounded in the later half of the year. Within equities, we will use a sizeable market pullback to add to high-quality stocks as they become more attractive.

We feel confident about the repositioning we were able to do during the pandemic and ensuing market volatility. While we are not aggressive buyers of stocks at current levels, we will likely add to high quality equities on any meaningful weakness. However, the bond market, particularly government bonds, is worrisome, with interest rates at record lows and over $15 trillion in international bonds trading at negative interest rates. Low interest rates are a negative for savers, and at these levels, Treasury bond yields cannot keep up with current and future inflation levels.

We are cautiously optimistic that U.S. equities, and in particular dividend growth stocks with high free cash flow, can continue to move higher in 2020. In an economy with modest growth, low interest rates and above average valuations, returns will likely be driven by earnings growth. Recall from last quarter’s newsletter that we lowered our return expectations in September across stocks and bonds. We expect spikes in volatility through the year as investors assess the U.S. elections, trade negotiations and other geopolitical events. While developments in any macro category are nearly impossible to forecast, Shorepoint’s process remains thoughtful and flexible as we deal with the lowest interest rates and political conditions we have not seen in years.