Honor and Celebrate Our Veterans
Veterans are skilled leaders and problem solvers who have a lot to offer in and out of the service. Got Your 6, a campaign to empower veterans in America, offered some interesting insights about the men and women who have chosen to serve in our country’s military. When veterans return to civilian life:
- 60% give to charity each year (compared to 50% of civilians)
- 79% register to vote (compared to 71% of civilians)
- 48% vote in local elections (compared to 32% of civilians)
- 43% belong to a community organization (compared to 36% of civilians)
- 17% reach out to public officials (compared to 10% of civilians)
In addition, vets spend about 160 hours each year doing volunteer work. While there are veterans who struggle upon returning to civilian life, many are active, engaged, and invested in their communities. On this Veterans’ Day, celebrate the men and women you know who have served in America’s armed forces.
The Markets
It’s said markets hate uncertainty, but that wasn’t the case last week.
Despite tremendous uncertainty about the outcome of the United States election, major domestic and international stock indices moved higher and the CBOE Volatility Index, better known as Wall Street’s fear gauge, moved 35 percent lower. Ben Levisohn of Barron’s reported:
“By all accounts, it should have been a terrible week for the stock market. At the close of trading on Friday, we still didn’t know whether Joe Biden or Donald Trump had won or which party would control the Senate. There was also set to be at least two recounts – one in Georgia, and one in Michigan – with likely more to come. It’s the kind of uncertainty that the market is supposed to hate.”
Yet, there was little fear to be found in financial markets. Investors’ confidence may have been grounded in a wave of positive economic news:
- 15 of 18 manufacturing industries grew in October. The ISM’s Manufacturing Purchasing Manager’s Index rose 3.9 percent in October. The Index finished at 59.3 percent, an indication manufacturing is improving and the economy is growing.
- Rates remained low. The Federal Reserve kept rates near zero, which supports economic growth. The Fed’s Open Market Committee statement indicated supportive monetary policy would continue. “The Federal Reserve is committed to using its full range of tools to support the U.S. economy in this challenging time, thereby promoting its maximum employment and price stability goals.”
- People are going back to work. More jobs were created in October than economists expected. The Bureau of Labor Statistic’s Unemployment report showed 638,000 new jobs for October. The U-3 unemployment rate fell to 6.9 percent. That’s an improvement on April’s unemployment level of 14.7 percent.
While that’s all good news, the number of coronavirus cases in the United States continued to increase last week. Randall Forsyth of Barron’s reported, “As politics at long last fades as a factor, the renewed surge in COVID-19 cases looms large… Even without renewed mandated lockdowns, however, people are apt to hunker down voluntarily… that could dampen the labor market’s recovery.”
| Data as of 11/6/20 | 1-Week | Y-T-D | 1-Year | 3-Year | 5-Year | 10-Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard & Poor's 500 (Domestic Stocks) | 7.3% | 8.6% | 14.1% | 10.6% | 10.8% | 11.1% |
| Dow Jones Global ex-U.S. | 7.5 | -1.7 | 1.7 | -0.1 | 3.7 | 1.6 |
| 10-year Treasury Note (Yield Only) | 0.8 | NA | 1.8 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 2.6 |
| Gold (per ounce) | 3.1 | 27.4 | 30.6 | 15.2 | 12.3 | 3.4 |
| Bloomberg Commodity Index | 1.4 | -10.0 | -9.2 | -6.2 | -3.1 | -7.2 |
S&P 500, Dow Jones Global ex-US, Gold, Bloomberg Commodity Index returns exclude reinvested dividends (gold does not pay a dividend) and the three-, five-, and 10-year returns are annualized; and the 10-year Treasury Note is simply the yield at the close of the day on each of the historical time periods.
Sources: Yahoo! Finance, MarketWatch, djindexes.com, London Bullion Market Association.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. N/A means not applicable.
Weekly Focus – Think About It
“There is nothing so American as our national parks… The fundamental idea behind the parks… is that the country belongs to the people, that it is in process of making for the enrichment of the lives of all of us."
—Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd U.S. President
Wishing you and your families well,
Sean M. Dowling, CFP, EA
President, The Dowling Group Wealth Management
Please feel free to forward this commentary to family, friends, or colleagues. If you would like us to add them to the list, please reply to this e-mail with their e-mail address and we will ask for their permission to be added.
- Government bonds and Treasury Bills are guaranteed by the U.S. government as to the timely payment of principal and interest and, if held to maturity, offer a fixed rate of return and fixed principal value. However, the value of fund shares is not guaranteed and will fluctuate.
- Corporate bonds are considered higher risk than government bonds but normally offer a higher yield and are subject to market, interest rate and credit risk as well as additional risks based on the quality of issuer coupon rate, price, yield, maturity, and redemption features.
- The Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged group of securities considered to be representative of the stock market in general. You cannot invest directly in this index.
- All indexes referenced are unmanaged. Unmanaged index returns do not reflect fees, expenses, or sales charges. Index performance is not indicative of the performance of any investment.
- The Dow Jones Global ex-U.S. Index covers approximately 95% of the market capitalization of the 45 developed and emerging countries included in the Index.
- The 10-year Treasury Note represents debt owed by the United States Treasury to the public. Since the U.S. Government is seen as a risk-free borrower, investors use the 10-year Treasury Note as a benchmark for the long-term bond market.
- Gold represents the afternoon gold price as reported by the London Bullion Market Association. The gold price is set twice daily by the London Gold Fixing Company at 10:30 and 15:00 and is expressed in U.S. dollars per fine troy ounce.
- The Bloomberg Commodity Index is designed to be a highly liquid and diversified benchmark for the commodity futures market. The Index is composed of futures contracts on 19 physical commodities and was launched on July 14, 1998.
- The DJ Equity All REIT Total Return Index measures the total return performance of the equity subcategory of the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) industry as calculated by Dow Jones.
- International investing involves special risks such as currency fluctuation and political instability and may not be suitable for all investors. These risks are often heightened for investments in emerging markets.
- Yahoo! Finance is the source for any reference to the performance of an index between two specific periods.
- Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice and are not intended as investment advice or to predict future performance.
- Economic forecasts set forth may not develop as predicted and there can be no guarantee that strategies promoted will be successful.
- Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investing involves risk, including loss of principal.
- You cannot invest directly in an index.
- Stock investing involves risk including loss of principal.
- The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and may not be invested into directly. Economic forecasts set forth may not develop as predicted and are subject to change. Investing involves risk including loss of principal.
- The Price-to-Earning (P/E) ratio is a measure of the price paid for a share relative to the annual net income or profit earned by the firm per share. It is a financial ratio used for valuation: a higher P/E ratio means investors are paying more for each unit of net income, thus, the stock is more expensive compared to one with a lower P/E ratio.
- These views are those of Carson Group Coaching, and not the presenting Representative or the Representative’s Broker/Dealer, and should not be construed as investment advice.
- This newsletter was prepared by Carson Group Coaching. Carson Group Coaching is not affiliated with the named broker/dealer.
- The foregoing information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee it is accurate or complete.
- Consult your financial professional before making any investment decision.
Sources:
http://www.gotyour6.org/about-2/about-got-your-6/
http://www.gotyour6.org/the-civic-life-of-veterans/
https://www.barrons.com/market-data (or go to https://resources.carsongroup.com/hubfs/Carson%20Coaching%20Online/Market%20Commentary/Weekly/2020/11/11-09-20_Barrons-Market_Data-Footnote_1.pdf)
https://www.barrons.com/articles/the-stock-market-soared-last-week-why-the-election-didn-t-matter-51604714996?refsec=the-trader (or go to https://resources.carsongroup.com/hubfs/Carson%20Coaching%20Online/Market%20Commentary/Weekly/2020/11/11-09-20_Barrons-The_Stock_Market_Doesnt_Care_Who_the_President_Is-Footnote_2.pdf)
https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/monetary20201105a.htm
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
https://www.barrons.com/articles/the-likely-power-split-in-washington-suits-investors-just-fine-51604714095?mod=hp_DAY_Theme_2_1 (or go to https://resources.carsongroup.com/hubfs/Carson%20Coaching%20Online/Market%20Commentary/Weekly/2020/11/11-09-20_Barrons-The_Likely_Power_Split_in_Washington_Suits_Investors_Just_Fine-Footnote_6.pdf)
https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/visitation-numbers.htm
https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/hisnps/NPSThinking/famousquotes.htm
ADV & Investment Objectives: Please contact The Dowling Group if there are any changes in your financial situation or investment objectives, or if you wish to impose, add or modify any reasonable restrictions to the management of your account. Our current disclosure statement is set forth on Part II of Form ADV and is available for your review upon request.
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