Posts Tagged ‘Investments’
Wednesday, September 21st, 2011
| September 20, 2011
To Our Valued Clients,
We finished trimming equity allocations last week, as we said we would do in our previous e-mails.
It was a good week for equities, mostly because of positive news out of Europe, but the outlook is still cloudy-at best.
Vivian and I went to a PIMCO conference last week. They are still on the “bumpy road to a new normal” theme, and the new normal is not positive. Their current forecast for the next 3-5 years:
- –One or more members of the European Union will default or restructure their debt, causing dislocations across the financial markets;
- –The United States will deal with its debt problem through a combination of austerity (driven by Congressional Republicans) and inflation (driven by the Fed). Neither is good for the stock and bond markets;
- –The Emerging Countries (led by China, and including India and Brazil), will continue to grow, but at slower rates as they try to contain inflation in their economies.
While PIMCO is not necessarily right, (more…) |
Tags: asset management, economic outlook, equity allocations, Harvey Rowen, Investments, market performance, Portfolio Management, Portfolio Managers, Starmont, Stock Market, Stocks, Vivian Groman, Wealth Management
Posted in Blog, Client Communications | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 19th, 2011
To Our Valued Clients,
We sent to you a week ago an e-mail that included a discussion of what is going on with the debt ceiling legislation under a heading that read, “July Could Be A Volatile Month-Buckle Up.” If you didn’t have a chance to read it, here is a link: http://www.starmont.com/2011/07/market-and-debt-ceiling-update/
Where Are We Now?
The date at which the United States Treasury runs out of cash and could start defaulting on the payment of principal and interest on Treasury bills, notes and bonds is only 15 days away.
No resolution is in sight from the White House and Congress, although there are numerous plans being floated in Washington.
Stock and bond markets have been rather blasé about this until today, when the Dow closed down around 100 points. As the drop dead date of August 2nd gets closer with no resolution, we expect increased volatility in the markets.
Ask just about anyone in the investments business why there has been little interest in this topic and they will say, “It’s all a bunch of political posturing, and by August 2nd they will have raised the debt ceiling.”
Maybe. But maybe not.
And the consequences of Maybe Not could be severe.
We are only speculating, since the United States has never defaulted on its debt in its over 200 year history as a country. But here is what could happen:
(more…)
Tags: asset management, Bonds, Congress, Debt Ceiling, economic outlook, Harvey Rowen, Investments, market performance, Portfolio Management, Starmont, Wealth Management
Posted in Blog, Client Communications, The Market | No Comments »
Monday, July 18th, 2011
Starmont’s Harvey Rowen and Christine Benz of Morningstar, were quoted by the Associated Press regarding the Debt Ceiling, Congress and Client portfolios.
Click here to see Mark Jewel’s July 14, 2011 article, “7 tips for rebalancing your fund portfolio now” on MSN.Money.com
Tags: asset management, Congress, Debt Ceiling, economic outlook, equity allocations, Harvey Rowen, Investments, Portfolio Management, Starmont, Stock Market, Wealth Management
Posted in Blog, Starmont In The News, The Market | No Comments »
Monday, July 11th, 2011
To Our Valued Clients and Friends
June started out badly, but rallied at the end of the month and closed only moderately down for the month. (Markets were down for the month, but are up for the year. See below).
The major U.S. stock indexes were down from 1% to 2.5% for the month. The EAFE index (Developed International Markets) was down 1.2%, and the iShares EEM (Emerging International Markets) was down 0.94%. For the year through June 30th, all major domestic and international stock indexes are up, from 8.6% for the DJIA and Russell 2000 (domestic small cap) Growth; to 0.91% for the iShares EEM.
Domestic and international bond indexes were negative for the month, with the Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index down 0.45% and the Barclays Capital Global Treasury Ex-US Index down 0.01%. For the year through June 30th these indexes are positive.
Commodities and REITs, both domestic and international, were negative in June, and the commodity index has gone negative for the year.
All Starmont Client portfolios are positive for 2011 through June 30th—with the amount dependent on how their assets are allocated among the various asset groups. So far in 2011 the higher the allocation to equities, the better the portfolio performance. Your First Half Reports will be sent to you later in the month.
July Could Be A Volatile Month—Buckle Up!
(more…)
Tags: asset management, Bonds, Congress, economic outlook, Economy, Harvey Rowen, Interest Rates, Investments, Portfolio Management, U.S. economy, Wealth Management
Posted in Blog, Client Communications, The Market | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 5th, 2011
Click on the link below to see Harvey Rowen on MarketWatch.com discuss the dangers if Congress does not pass the legislation raising the debt ceiling this month.
US Knocking At Debt’s Door
Tags: asset management, Congress, equity allocations, Harvey Rowen, Interest Rates, Investments, market performance, MarketWatch.com, Starmont, Stock Market, Stocks, Wealth Management
Posted in Blog, Starmont In The News, The Market | No Comments »
Monday, June 27th, 2011
By Vivian Groman, Senior Advisor, Starmont Asset Management, LLC
A typical Starmont event focuses on educating Clients about investing. Several times each year, we host intimate gatherings that feature a fund manager or investment expert in dialogue with clients over lunch or cocktails.
But on June 13, the women of Starmont rocked the house. 40 Starmont Clients and friends met at the Hyatt Embarcadero, in the lingering daylight of a lovely summer evening. We shared a glass of wine, made new friends and talked….not mutual funds but style!
We were under the spell of LA celebrity stylist, Jennifer Butler, who spent nearly two hours teaching us how to express our essence more powerfully, authentically and effectively through style and color.
Jennifer’s approach diverges significantly from the fashion advice we get in magazines or watch on TV. Instead, she teaches how to use clothing and accessories to help express our true essence. By dressing and accessorizing in this way, we appear more congruent and therefore more trustworthy, naturally beautiful and authentic.
(more…)
Tags: asset management, Harvey Rowen, Investments, Portfolio Management, Starmont, Vivian Groman, Wealth Management
Posted in Blog, Events | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011
Live Very Very Long and Prosper
As more people live into their 90s and beyond, financial planning becomes even more important—and trickier
by Suzanne Barlyn
“Funding a retirement well into my 90s, though, could require investing more in equities until age 70, says Vivian Groman, senior adviser at Starmont Asset Management in San Ramon, Calif. How much risk I accept should depend on how much I’ve saved, my lifestyle and the health of the economy at that time, Ms. Groman says.”
To Read Article Click Here
Tags: asset management, Bonds, equity allocations, investing for retirement, investment management, Investments, Portfolio Management, retirement, retirement planning
Posted in Blog, Starmont In The News | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 16th, 2010
Harvey Rowen, Starmont’s CEO and CIO, was recently quoted in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story on what some perceive to be the current bubble in bonds.
Referring to the current situation in which interest rates are low and bond values are high, Harvey offered some suggestions that investors and/or their investment advisors can take to protect themselves from loss when interest rates go up and the value of outstanding bonds goes down.
The link to the story is posted in the Starmont in the News section. Click here to go there.
Tags: Bonds, Investments, Investors, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Starmont
Posted in Blog, Starmont In The News | No Comments »
Thursday, March 4th, 2010
Cigarette makers are required to put health warnings on their cigarette packages. Maybe the Government should be required to put wealth warnings on its decisions.
Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Ben Bernanke has released a game plan for raising interest rates, and has already started to implement that decision with the Fed raising the Discount Rate on February 19th. Other rate rises are sure to come, including rises in the Federal Funds rate—it’s just not clear when and by how much. Rising interest rates mean lower bond valuations for outstanding bonds and higher costs to individuals and businesses carrying various kinds of debt.
The so called Bush tax cuts are scheduled to expire on December 31st of this year. Absent legislation (which is unlikely to come from the current dysfunctional Congress), income tax rates, capital gains tax rates, and estate tax rates will rise January 1, 2011.
Investment accounts need to reviewed and adjusted as necessary in light of these developments. (more…)
Tags: Bernake, Bond Yield, Bonds, Federal Reserve, Interest Rates, Investments, Taxes
Posted in Blog, The Market | 2 Comments »
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