Perspectives

Markets continued their strong start to the New Year with another 500+ point advance in the Dow Jones Industrial Average last week breaking through DOW 26k today.  Improving fundamentals for the global economy, and corporations, are buoying investor confidence; weekly inflows into global equity markets hit a six-month high.  Small cap value stocks outpaced large cap growth stocks; the market?s preference for small caps indicates that investors are starting to look for returns outside of popu… View More

2017 was a great year for the markets and the overall economy.  Looking forward to what we may expect in 2018, the data so far seems to suggest there is still room for the economy (and markets) to continue their expansion.  Some of the things we are watching are: Since congress passed the tax bill, 85 (and counting) US companies have announced new bonuses for their employees or that they are increasing their employees’ benefits The New York Fed’s underlying inflation gauge stands at 2.95… View More

As the New Year begins, investors are beginning to assess the impact of tax reform on corporate earnings and growth estimates.The IRS will issue guidance in mid-January which will allow for worker paychecks to be adjusted for lower taxes (and higher take-home pay) by February. This is akin to giving nearly every worker in America a raise at the same time. The last time paychecks adjusted for lower taxes in 2003 growth and yields surged. Additionally, nearly 80 companies have publicly announced i… View More

New Year's is a time many of us reflect on our lives, set new  goals, and pursue new opportunities.  We hope your 2018 is your best year yet! If you or anyone close to you is looking to evaluate new financial goals or reevaluate older financial goals,  Fortem Financial is here to help.   2017 was an outstanding year for stocks; the S&P 500? Index delivered gains in eleven out of twelve months, a feat previously accomplished only in 1958 and 2006.  Investors seemed un-phased by … View More

We wanted to share a concise comparison of the changes effected by the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.  CGC Accountants and Advisors in Palm Desert prepared the side-by-side comparison.    Click here to download. If you have any questions, please call or email us. Sincerely,  Fortem Financial    … View More

The question is where does the market and economy go from here?  With tax reform looking like it will pass this week,  unemployment at or below 4% and an accommodative Federal reserve and reductions in regulations, we think there is still more room to run in 2018 and beyond.  Yes there may be a pause but we think that pause will be the one the refreshes, instead of one that undermines current gains. Stocks rose to all-time highs on Friday as expectations rose for passage of tax reform; severa… View More

Because a picture is worth a thousand words, we wanted to share a few pictures of what a bubble looks like.   Many of us experienced our first memorable bubble in the 1990s.  It's come to be known as the "Tech Bubble," and this is what it looks like on a chart.  Between January of 1995 and December of 1999, a 5 year window, the Nasdaq grew to 9.1 times is starting value.  It was one of the most exciting periods the stock market had ever known.   However, the Nasdaq Victory Party ended… View More

The Federal Reserve did what just about everyone expected earlier today and raised short-term interest rates by 0.25 percentage points. The federal funds rate is now in a range from 1.25 - 1.50% and the Fed is now paying banks 1.50% on their reserve balances.  Today's move was the third 25 basis point rate hike in 2017, matching the Fed's median projection for rate hikes that it made a year ago. At present, the Fed's "dot plot," which it releases at the last meeting of every calendar quarter, p… View More

Stocks were little-changed last week as the conference committee convened to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate tax bills.  Several challenges remain, but momentum for a compromise remains strong; Republicans hope to have the bill on the president’s desk before Christmas. Financials, Industrials, and consumer-oriented stocks outperformed; these areas should benefit the most from tax reform and deregulation.  Utilities was the worst performing sector as dividend-yieldi… View More

With 2017 coming to its close, we continue to find conflicting opinions on the state of the economy and the outlook for the stock market.  On November 14th, Bank of America shared the results of a survey that it says demonstrates investors are “increasingly showing signs of ‘irrational exuberance’, putting more chips on the table even as they worry equities have become overvalued.”  Bank of America’s chief investment strategist was quoted as saying, “Icarus is flying ever close to … View More