Welcome to 2017!
I hope you are well as we begin this new year!
2016 was a pretty crazy year. We began the year with some significant down turns across all the markets and increased volatility. Oil prices dropped to 15 year lows and there was global concern with China, terror, and our election. The Federal Reserve delayed the raising of rates and then continued the trend, while the markets were mostly flat through the middle of the year. The increase in prices since the election may be more about the fundamentals and the Fed than our new president, but it was a nice way to close out the year.
I do not pretend to know what will happen with President Trump. He talked about doing some very interesting things during his campaign. However, how he is going to do them exactly is currently not known and therefore is not priced into the markets. It will take some time, the next 12 – 20 months for the details to start to come to light. I suspect increased volatility during this time and while some of the items on his agenda could lead to market increases, others might lead to steep declines.
I am taking a Hold and Watch approach to the coming months. I do not see reason to panic, I think the fundamentals of diversification and value investing are key. We have spread things out across multiple positions and I like that approach.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I value our relationship and look forward to working with you in the coming year.
Sincerely,
Sterling
