After starting out the year with new records being hit almost daily, the markets suffered their worst week in two years with the S&P 500 closing at 2762. One market pundit had it right when he stated the obvious that "Yes, earnings are strong and the economy is doing well, but markets just don\'t go straight up." A rise in interest rate didn’t help either. In technical terms, the equity markets moved higher this year due to strong buyer demand resulting in an “overbought” condition. Like a stretched rubber band, it finally snapped back. This could also be referred to as a two steps forward, one step back scenario, i.e. still positive for the year but off the high. Next week we’ll see how things unfold but hopefully the markets will start a consolidation phase. As such, we recommend remaining fully invested in equities and continue to build on our annual PIP returns.<br>Performance Data through 31 January:<br>Year to Date (YTD): 4.71%<br>Last 12 Months (PIP): 21.59%
After starting out the year with new records being hit almost daily, the markets suffered their worst week in two years with the S&P 500 closing at 2762. One market pundit had it right when he stated the obvious that "Yes, earnings are strong and the economy is doing well, but markets just don\'t go straight up." A rise in interest rate didn’t help either. In technical terms, the equity markets moved higher this year due to strong buyer demand resulting in an “overbought” condition. Like a stretched rubber band, it finally snapped back. This could also be referred to as a two steps forward, one step back scenario, i.e. still positive for the year but off the high. Next week we’ll see how things unfold but hopefully the markets will start a consolidation phase. As such, we recommend remaining fully invested in equities and continue to build on our annual PIP returns.<br>Performance Data through 31 January:<br>Year to Date (YTD): 4.71%<br>Last 12 Months (PIP): 21.59%