Media Kit – Daryl Seaton, COO to Chief Operating Officer
A native of Northern California, Daryl began his career in financial services in 2000 with a Fortune 100 company in Sacramento, Calif. Swiftly becoming a top producer, he was promoted and in due course held responsibilities for recruiting, developing, and leading 150-plus agents/financial advisors with more than $1 billion in assets under care. Pursuing autonomy […]
South African Variant Sell-Off
The coronavirus reminded us again that the pandemic is far from over. Last Monday, Austrian residents started their day in lockdown. Later in the week, the new Covid-19 variant from South Africa set off alarm bells worldwide. Europe first, and then the U.S. announced travel bans on South Africa and surrounding countries. This setback in the fight against the virus caused investors to sell equities globally and buy the safety of Treasuries.
Media Kit – Bill Sowell, Chief Executive Officer/President
Bill began his career in the financial services industry in 1990 and quickly became a top producer within the industry. In 1995, he began a fee-only practice now known as Sowell Management, which services a broad spectrum of some of the top Independent Advisor Representatives (IARs), and Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) in the United States. […]
The Next Industrial Revolution?
With Washington’s political attention over President Biden’s recent economic and social stimulus bills and the global debate over greenhouse gases, beneath the surface could electric vehicles be laying the groundswell for another industrial revolution? Tesla’s market-cap now at $1.1 trillion exceeds Toyota, Volkswagen, Daimler, GM, and Ford’s combined. New EV entrants Rivian, recent IPO ($100 bn) and Lucid Motors ($90 bn) combined market-cap already exceed Ford and GM.
Monthly Performance October 2021
October experienced a spectacular rebound from the September Effect drawdown, with the S&P 500 gaining 7.0% along with long-dated Treasuries returning 1.8%. This momentum was aided by President Biden’s massive stimulus expected from the Infrastructure Bill, above consensus corporate earnings, and the market’s expectation of a softer landing in rate tightening. Equity market gains were concentrated on growth and momentum factors not commonly dominant during extended secular economic recoveries.
Consumers Worried
Stocks finished the week lower as worries over rising prices and deteriorating consumer confidence pulled equities lower. Consumer sentiment measured by the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment index fell to a multiyear low, indicating that consumers are worried about rising prices. Inflation continues to be an issue, with both the producer and consumer prices increasing more than expected.
Factory Orders Exceed Expectations
Economic data came in a generally strong showing that the economy has gained strength as the delta variant has waned. Factory orders increased more than expected, and October’s unemployment report also topped estimates. The pickup in hiring was widespread across many industries, including the leisure and hospitality group.
Q3 Reports Boost Market
Strong quarterly earnings reports lifted the equities market to new highs last week. Earnings, in general, have surprised to the upside except for a few notable names such as Apple and Amazon that disappointed, blaming supply chain bottlenecks. For the week, consumer discretionary companies performed well, helped by Tesla, saying that rental company Hertz agreed to buy 100,000 of its electric vehicles.
Monthly Performance Report September 2021
To the casual eye equity markets led by the S&P 500 index-free climbs past another record gain of 2.38% in July was anything but routine. With close scrutiny as the undertow from the economic skepticism from the delta variant and emerging markets uncertainty with China’s sudden stock market crackdown temporarily splintered the global recovery. What should have been a choreographed global economic recovery instead behaved like an economic slowdown from the composition of the equity and bond markets.
The Story’s Still Positive
Gains in the equity markets led to new record highs last week. Earnings reported by companies continued to beat expectations, pulling indices higher. Real estate, utilities and health care shares outperformed.