On Wednesday, September 11th, our CIO, Chris Battifarano, and Tom Richmond, Co-Head of Taxable SMAs at Wasmer Schroeder (Schwab Asset Management), led a live discussion on interest rates and investment impacts. Their insights are crucial ahead of the Federal Reserve rate announcement on September 18th.
Questions to Consider Before Opening a 529 Account
What is a 529 Plan? A 529 plan is an investment account that offers tax-free withdrawals and other benefits when used to pay for qualified education expenses. You can use a 529 plan to pay for college, K-12 tuition, apprenticeship programs, and even student loan repayments. Any leftover funds can be used in different ways, …
Market Update
Stock markets are beginning to regain footing today after the S&P 500’s worst day in nearly two years. Now investors are wondering, what caused this market turmoil and more importantly, what can we expect next. Chief Investment Officer Chris Battifarano explains.
2024 Second Quarter Review & Commentary
Election year politics can breed market uncertainty. How should investors navigate this seemingly uncertain period? FineMark’s Chief Investment Officer lays out our approach to portfolio construction and investment management in our second quarter investment newsletter.
Read Article Here
2024 First Quarter Review & Commentary
Equity markets continued their strong upward rise, with US large caps leading the charge. Markets were clearly in risk seeking mode, and equites were not the only asset class to experience significant appreciation, cryptocurrencies continue to race ahead as well. Select commodities also rose significantly including gold, oil and cocoa. FineMark Chief Investment Officer Chris Battifarano breaks it all down, offering FineMark’s views on risk, opportunities, and what you need to consider as 2024 unfolds.
Read Article Here
2023 Fourth Quarter Review & Commentary
2023 ended on a high note with stunning bond performance in a reviving stock market. With a U.S. presidential election on the horizon, Executive Vice President & Chief Investment Officer Chris Battifarano uses historical data to evaluate year-end happenings and ponder what may lie ahead.
Read Article Here
2023 Third Quarter Review & Commentary
The third quarter marked a reversal for equities, which peaked for the year in July and then weakened in August and September. Bonds remain under pressure and did not provide diversification benefits for the traditional 60/40 investor during the quarter. Alternative investments, on the other hand posted positive returns for the period. We also saw a move up in longer term rates for the first time awhile.
Read Article Here
Conflict between Israel and Hamas
The world continues to watch in horror as the conflict between Israel and Hamas intensifies. We can only hope and pray for an end to the violence and a lasting peace in the Middle East. FineMark’s Chief Investment Officer, Chris Battifarano, weighs in on the potential economic ramifications in the attached brief video.
Equity Market Outlook
We believe many of our current investment themes characterization. One example is our current theme on artificial intelligence, AI, which we originally published in April and wrote extensively about in our Q1 newsletter. We believe that over the next 10 years, some labor that is currently being executed by humans, will be replaced by machines. …
Emerging Trends: A.I. & Deglobalization
Given the current market rally year-to-date, what are our thoughts on the equity markets over the next 12 months? The performance of US equity market to date has vastly outstripped our and any other market forecasts we had seen from forecasters at the onset of the year. This rapid price appreciation is partially what led …
Our Views on the Risk of a Recession
Our view has been that we have been in an elevated period of risk for the US to enter a recession, however one has not officially occurred. We say officially because recessions are only known with certitude in hindsight, and we have not been informed by the NBER, The National Bureau of Economic Research that …
2023 Second Quarter Review & Commentary
While storm clouds remain on the investment horizon, Executive Vice President & Chief Investment Officer Chris Battifarano explains why savvy investors should focus on the long-term, ignore Wall Street chatter, and be aware of mega trends that develop and impact the economic landscape.
Read Article Here
