To Inform:  In 2017, global stock markets were firing on all cylinders.  Earnings were growing, companies were paying dividends, prices were going up, and a weaker dollar even provided a tailwind for foreign stock returns.  In 2018, returns in the global stock market have been harder to come by despite tax reform creating a boost […]

To Inform:  In our industry, we tend to throw around the terms “growth” and “value” when trying to describe stocks and investment styles. When you hear us use phrases like “this is a growth stock” or “this mutual fund manager invests in value stocks,” what do we actually mean? Growth companies tend to be those […]

To Inform:   Source: Shutterstock   Earlier this week I listened to a webcast put on by the fund managers of a flagship “best ideas” global allocation fund from a major investment bank.  I’m taking some liberties to summarize a conversation I had with a friend during the webcast, but the conversation went something like this: […]

To Inform:  When you buy a bond, you are effectively loaning money out to a government or a corporation with the expectation to be repaid your original loan with interest. A bond repaying you in two years will often pay a different rate of interest than a bond repaying you in ten years. When we […]

To Inform:  In the first three months of 2018, only one major asset class had positive performance – emerging market (EM) stocks.  Since then, emerging markets have had a significant correction and are now down close to -10% year to date through late August.  Is the recent correction a buying opportunity? Despite pressures from a […]

To Inform:  Could the stock market be in the early stages of a shift in leadership from “Growth” stocks to “Value” stocks?  At this week’s Portfolios at Panera discussion, we talked about major themes which have been areas of focus in The Joseph Group’s Investment Strategy Team meetings.  One of those themes is a potential […]

To Inform:  We are in the early stages of second-quarter earnings announcements in the U.S., and things are looking positive. In order to grow earnings every year, there are really three levers a company can pull: Revenue Growth – is the company growing their sales numbers? Margin Expansion – is the company reducing costs and/or […]

To Inform:  In this week’s informational WealthNote, we are excited and proud to share our Portfolio Manager Aaron Filbeck, CFA, CAIA, CIPM,’s new whitepaper that explores why we look at the investment universe the way that we do. Portfolio Manager Aaron Filbeck, CFA, CAIA, CIPM   When our clients are shown a visual representation of […]

To Inform:   At yesterday’s Portfolios at Panera discussion, an attendee said, “It seems like all of this tariff talk is making stocks bounce around and it has nothing to do with the fundamentals of the companies.”  Yes, we’ve noticed that too….in fact, as I’m writing this, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average an hour […]

To Inform:   Since my oldest son is preparing for the ACT this summer, this week’s To Inform portion of Wealthnotes is a test question: Based on popular market indexes, which of the following statements is CORRECT? U.S. stock performance is flat this year U.S. stock performance is up double digits this year U.S. stock performance […]