Market Volatility

Articles and resources related to Market Volatility.

Investment Insight: A Ten-Year Look Back

Gregory Carlson, CFP^®
CEO and Founder
Published May 2, 2019

March 9, 2009, is an important day in our shared history. We didn’t necessarily know it at the time as it took a few months for the significance of the day to reveal itself, but it was on this date when the financial markets hit rock bottom during the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). From that day forward the markets stopped their painful retreat and began to recover. That was ten years ago now, and as we reflect on those ten years, of course there are countless learnings and insights that could ... [Continue Reading]

Looking Back at Ten Years Since the Market Bottom of March 9, 2009

James Michael Yaworski, CFA
Senior Investment Strategist
Published March 8, 2019

The S&P 500, an index that tracks the performance of large U.S. company stocks, has delivered 9.99% average annual returns since 1926 1 . We know that this terrific performance is compensation to investors for taking on risk, and that returns weren’t achieved in a slow and steady manner. Investors don’t have to look too far back in time to remember the poor performance of the tech bubble in the early 2000s or the financial crisis of 2008. In fact, the 10-year annual return of the S&P ... [Continue Reading]

Investment Insight: The Evidence-Based Value of Owning a Globally Diversified Portfolio

Gregory Carlson, CFP^®
CEO and Founder
Published January 25, 2019

As we all observed and experienced, the close of 2018 brought an unsettling time in the equity markets. Markets historically don’t respond favorably to uncertainty, be it financial, political or social, and recent volatility appears to be tied to a host of uncertainties. Many individual investors react to uncertainty based on emotion, even though we’ve seen throughout the history of the market how important it is that investors don’t allow emotion to influence decisions. Throughout recent market ... [Continue Reading]

A Historical Perspective on Market Conditions

Posted on May 10, 2018

In 2017, the U.S. stock market rose steadily, with the S&P 500 recording a rare feat of 12 straight positive monthly returns. By comparison, 2018 has essentially been a splash of cold water in the faces of investors. After strong returns early in the year, the market has see-sawed back and forth, ending the first quarter with a slight loss. It’s important that we view this recent volatility with perspective and understand just how unusual the market environment was in 2017. Arjun Sigamani, a ... [Continue Reading]

Investment Insight: In Like a Lamb, Out Like a Lion

Adam Hoffmann, CFP^®, AIF^®
Chief Investment Officer
Published April 23, 2018

Although much of the Minnesota landscape is currently covered in a fresh blanket of snow, rearranging the order of the oft-quoted springtime idiom more aptly describes the first quarter behavior of equity markets than it does the weather. It was once again a reminder that the animal spirits of markets don’t always follow the seasons. The year began where 2017 left off, with global stock markets carrying their strong positive momentum into the new year. In fact, the S&P 500 index hit ten ... [Continue Reading]