Vigilare Wealth Management Q4 2017 Commentary
We close the books on yet another year. A very good year for the markets. It is almost impossible to believe two decades have passed since the internet stocks were all the rage and the Dow Jones was first hitting 10,000. Déjà vu? There are many similarities with 2017 and the market of the 90s, just substitute the dot.coms for the cryptocurrencies, or one special prosecutor for another, or using Netflix instead of Netscape. Markets in 2017 experienced almost no drawdowns for the year, matching only 1995, in the entire history of our stock market.
We will be releasing our 2018 commentary on our newly designed web site later this month. Additionally, we will be reaching out one-on-one and going over all the relevant and material issues facing us in the months and years to come.
Some key topics:
- Tax reform – both personal and corporate
- Infrastructure – implications and opportunities of new legislation
- Geopolitics – potential risks
- Market sectors – opportunities and risks
- Mid-Term Elections – Congressional makeup and future legislation
- Central Banks – New Fed Chair, QE unwind, rate hikes
- Economic momentum – U.S. and abroad
- Recession watch – really?
- Market risks – what keeps us up a night?
This is just scratching the surface. The single most important variable to consider as we enter 2018 is INFLATION. We have already begun to position portfolios to anticipate the resurgence of inflation and although mostly anecdotal now, we anticipate by summer the “inflation” discussion could be front and center. Our hope is that we are positioned appropriately, unlike most others who may just be starting to dust off the old books on inflation.
Happy New Year. May we all have a happy, healthy, and prosperous year.
The Vigilare Wealth Management Team
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