If you’ve glanced at the TV in the breakroom or perused the newspaper on a coffee table in the past month, you’ve likely seen the one word the entire financial world is debating right now—inflation. Inflation is typically one of those words you’d prefer to not see in the news. Like ‘taxes’ or ‘budget,’ inflation is necessary, but if it’s making headlines, there’s an inherent concern that your wallet will be impacted.
The stock market bounced back last week, with many equity indexes recouping what was lost the previous week when the Federal Reserve messaging left investors rattled. The S&P 500 (a proxy for US large cap stocks) advanced 2.8% for the week while the MSCI ACWI (a proxy for large and mid-cap global stocks) was up 2.3%.
Stock markets fell last week as investors were somewhat surprised by the Federal Reserve (Fed) shift in messaging. Both the S&P 500 (a proxy for large-cap domestic stocks) and the MSCI ACWI (a proxy for global large and mid-cap stocks) fell 1.9% during the week.
If there was any question regarding whether investors bought in to the Federal Reserve’s narrative of inflation being transitory, it was answered last week. Despite the US Consumer Price Index (a common measure of inflation) rising to nearly 5% year-over-year, an increase not seen since 2008, bond markets barely reacted.
Everyone leaves a legacy, but not everyone is intentional about the legacy they leave. The memories, values, and wealth you pass on are directly impacted by how you plan for your legacy.
Equity markets rose slightly last week during the shortened Memorial Day holiday week (the S&P 500 was up 0.6% while the MSCI ACWI index was up 0.7%), with the majority of the gains occurring on Friday. The big news on Friday was provided by the Labor Department which reported that nonfarm payrolls rose by 559,000 jobs in May, well short of the 675,000 jobs expected.
What makes a good investment? Making a profit on a particular stock? Good. Getting rid of an investment that was projected to double in the next five years? Not good.
We monitor the backdrop for investing in risk assets across three primary pillars: economic conditions, asset prices, and technical considerations such as investor sentiment. On balance, we still believe that conditions are favorable for accepting investment risk, but above average asset class valuations and the potential for above-trend inflation should give pause.
Since its inception, Sovereign Financial has encouraged clients to align their investments with their values because investment is an act of ownership. We believe it is wise to own companies that fill a need in society, produce a sustainable profit, generate a positive return, and bless humanity and the world through their products and processes.
While equity markets were down slightly last week (the S&P 500 index lost -0.4%), it has still been a relatively strong start to the year for stocks, in general. The S&P 500, which is a proxy for large-cap US stocks, and the MSCI All Country World Index, a proxy for global large and mid-cap stocks, have gained 10.6% and 8.6%, respectively, so far in 2021.