Asset Allocation Bi-Weekly

Confluence Investment Management offers various asset allocation products which are managed using “top down,” or macro, analysis. We publish asset allocation thoughts on a bi-weekly basis, updating the piece every other Monday.

Asset Allocation Weekly (March 10, 2017)

by Asset Allocation Committee As the FOMC prepares to raise interest rates, it’s a good time to update our views on long-term interest rates.  The chart below shows our current estimate of fair value for the 10-year Treasury. The model uses fed funds, the 15-year moving average of CPI (an inflation expectations proxy), the yen/dollar exchange… Read More »

Asset Allocation Weekly (March 3, 2017)

by Asset Allocation Committee Since the election of President Trump, a number of sentiment indicators have risen strongly.  There is concern that the improving sentiment isn’t warranted.  In this week’s report, our research supports the conclusion that improving sentiment is better described as a reflection of the overall state of the economy.  In other words, our… Read More »

Asset Allocation Weekly (February 24, 2017)

by Asset Allocation Committee Emerging market equities have been the best performing asset class year to date among the 12 we use in our asset allocation program.  Given that we currently have no exposure to emerging markets, it makes sense to review this market stance.  The U.S. dollar is one of the key variables impacting the… Read More »

Asset Allocation Weekly (February 17, 2017)

by Asset Allocation Committee A regular question we are asked by financial advisors and clients is, what is the impact of the Trump presidency on financial markets?  The simple response is that we don’t know for sure, but a pattern is starting to emerge.  And that pattern has to do with the perceptions of Trump’s two… Read More »

Asset Allocation Weekly (February 10, 2017)

by Asset Allocation Committee For better or worse, the Federal Reserve tends to conduct policy based on some variant of the Taylor Rule, which essentially means that the FED sets the policy interest rate based upon changes in the inflation rate and the level of slack in the economy.  The rule suggests that if there is… Read More »

Asset Allocation Weekly (February 3, 2017)

by Asset Allocation Committee Although our current allocation models exclude emerging markets, we still monitor various emerging market nations for potential opportunities.  A country that has been in the news recently is Mexico.  President Trump has been targeting Mexico and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) for Mexico’s persistent trade surpluses with the U.S. This… Read More »

Asset Allocation Weekly (January 27, 2017)

by Asset Allocation Committee The consensus estimate for Q4 2016 S&P 500 operating earnings growth is 3.2%, which translates into a forecast of $118.35 per share for the S&P 500, using Thomson/Reuters data.  Using a similar growth rate, the Standard and Poor’s calculation of operating earnings generates annual earnings of $102.16.  Simply put, these two sources… Read More »

Asset Allocation Weekly (January 20, 2017)

by Asset Allocation Committee After a short foray into emerging markets, we exited that position in our latest allocation.  Prior to the Trump victory, we had expected the dollar to weaken which would have supported emerging markets.  However, the dollar’s resurgence is a bearish factor for emerging markets, leading the Asset Allocation Committee to look elsewhere… Read More »

Asset Allocation Weekly (January 13, 2017)

by Asset Allocation Committee Last week, we reviewed Sebastian Mallaby’s recent biography of Alan Greenspan.[1]  This week, we will focus on the issue of financial crises and financial stability.  As noted in last week’s review, the financial system has evolved from a disjointed and diffuse system where banks could not establish themselves across state lines to… Read More »

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