December 28, 2020

Weekly Investment Update

On Sunday, President Trump signed into law an agreement for a long-awaited stimulus bill aimed at mitigating the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the President requested a vote in Congress to increase the direct payments to individuals from $600 to $2,000. As of this writing, it is unclear whether there is enough support to pass the increased amount[1].

The new bill is roughly half the size of the $2 trillion CARES Act signed in March, though still one of the largest in US history. While the direct payments and enhanced unemployment benefits are less (at least currently) than what was originally included in the CARES Act, the S&P 500 opened higher on Monday as investors applauded a bill finally being passed.

In addition to the positive news from Washington, the biggest vaccine campaign in history is well underway. Nearly 2 million vaccines have been administered in the US already, nearly half of the 4.4 million vaccines that have been given globally. While the US is off to a quick start, delivering billions of shots globally remains a formidable logistical challenge[2].

United states map depicting the amount of COVID-19 vaccines administered in each state

Key Economic Releases This Week

Day	Report	Period	Consensus Est.	Previous
Tuesday, Dec. 29	S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Idx (annual rate)	October	–	7.0%
Wed., Dec. 30	Pending Home Sales (monthly rate)	November	–	-1.1%
Wed., Dec. 30	Wholesale Inventories (monthly rate)	November	0.6%	1.1%
Thursday, Dec. 31	Initial Jobless Claims	Week of 12/26/20	828,000	803,000
Thursday, Dec. 31	Continuing Jobless Claims	Week of 12/19/20	5.39 million	5.34 million

Source: Bloomberg

Asset Class Returns

Category	Representative Index	YTD 2020	Full Year 2019
Global Equity	MSCI All-Country	14.6%	26.6%
US Large Cap Equity	S&P 500	16.7%	31.5%
US Small Cap Equity	Russell 2000	21.7%	25.5%
Foreign Developed Equity	MSCI EAFE	6.3%	22.0%
Emerging Market Equity	MSCI Emerging Markets	14.9%	18.4%
US High Yield Fixed Income	ICE BofAML High Yield	5.6%	14.4%
US Fixed Income	Barclays Aggregate Bond	7.3%	8.7%
Cash Equivalents	ICE BofAML 0-3 Mo Deposit	0.5%	2.2%

Source: Morningstar
As of December 24, 2020

Prices & Interest Rates

Representative Index	Current	Year-End 2019
S&P 500	3,703	3,231
Dow Jones Industrial Avg.	30,200	28,538
NASDAQ	12,805	8,973
Crude Oil (US WTI)	$48.12	$61.21
Gold	$1,875	$1,520
US Dollar	90.32	96.39
2 Year Treasury	0.13%	1.58%
10 Year Treasury	0.94%	1.92%
30 Year Treasury	1.66%	2.39%

Source: Bloomberg, US Treasury
As of December 24, 2020

[1] House Set to Vote on $2,000 Stimulus Checks Trump Demanded – Bloomberg

[2] More Than 4.4 Million Shots Given: Covid-19 Vaccine Tracker (bloomberg.com)

Past performance may not be representative of future results.  All investments are subject to loss.  Forecasts regarding the market or economy are subject to a wide range of possible outcomes.  The views presented in this market update may prove to be inaccurate for a variety of factors.  These views are as of the date listed above and are subject to change based on changes in fundamental economic or market-related data.  Please contact your Financial Advisor in order to complete an updated risk assessment to ensure that your investment allocation is appropriate.  