WHAT IS BITCOIN? IT’S FOMO (FEAR OF MISSING OUT)
What is Bitcoin? I find that this question is coming up a bit these days, especially within and outside the halls of Sowell Management. One finds oneself wondering if this is that “canary in the coal mine” moment?…
Inflation Returns. Is it Transitory?
Fast-rising inflation returned in April, with CPI rising 4.2% from a year ago. This price increase could be transitory as supply shortages and reopening surge in demand is temporarily pushing prices higher. Read more about the effect on market volatility in the Week Ahead.
Monthly Performance Report April 2021
The S&P 500 Index posted its best monthly return in 2021 of 5.3% certainly with the help of the FAANG stocks but not entirely. FAANG is an acronym referring to the stocks of the five most popular and best-performing American technology companies: Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Alphabet (formerly known as Google). The five FAANG stocks which account for 16.9% of the S&P 500 by index weight also had the company of the Real Estate sector and importantly the Retail and Financial sectors delivering outperformance outpacing the broad index. This surge was certainly in the wake of strong first quarter corporate earnings results and from the expectations of surging consumption demand over the next several years fueled by innovation. TSMC, the world’s largest manufacturer of advanced semiconductors, plans to spend an additional $100 billion to expand its chip capacity on top of its already planned record capital expenditure of as much as $28 billion this year. At the center of the global chip supply bottleneck is innovation occurring from smart refrigerators to smart cars and everything in between – it is not all about the FAANGs.
Monthly Performance Report March 2021
As we have been echoing throughout Sowell’s weekly commentary, the economy continues to rebound from the covid pandemic woes and unlike 2020 much of March and most of 2021’s equity markets are riding the Value and Interest Rate wave, a market phenomenon not seen since the 2000-2005 timeframe if this continues. The S&P 500 posted strong gains of 4.4% in the month of March but underneath it all tells a much different story. Value stocks (underpinned by Financials and Industrials) trounced Growth stocks (underpinned by Technology and Consumer Discretionary) by 4.4% in March as reflected by the table below and the accompanying StyleAnalytics report.
Monthly Performance Report February 2021
Fueled by improving economic conditions and market liquidity from the expectation of Biden’s pandemic stimulus, on the surface equity markets measured by the S&P 500 again posted another month of strong gains returning 2.76%. However, the composition of those gains extended over the last six-months tell a vastly different story from the last several years which was largely led by high growth stocks. Unlike 2020 where over a period of 8 consecutive months growths stocks (i.e., Technology and Consumer Discretionary) outperformed value stocks (i.e., Financials and Industrials), over the last 6 months value stocks outperformed growth stocks by a cumulative margin of
Monthly Performance Report January 2021
2021kickstarted in lackluster territory following a record 2020 with stocks and bonds, S&P 500 and Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate, respectively returning -1.01% and -0.72%. A closer examination points to large-cap stocks giving back some of the recent gains and longer-dated Treasuries selling off as yield spreads widened along the yield curve. However, the headline to start the year is categorically smaller cap stocks finally break free after years of disappointment gaining a positive return of 5% outperforming large-cap stocks by 6%. We are pleased to report a majority of Sowell’s main strategies and series outperformed, and in select cases posted positive returns, relative to the S&P 500 and Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate losses attributed to our strategic positioning.
Pushing to Put Investors First
For Bill Sowell, “fiduciary” is more than a word, even more than a duty.
It’s his business philosophy. As CEO of Sowell Management, a registered investment adviser in North Little Rock, he embraces a legal obligation to put clients’ financial interests first. And he’s frustrated that the requirement doesn’t apply to everyone across the investing industry.
Sowell Management Local Hidden Treasure
As financial
headquarters
Management’s
nothing to sneeze at, is far from a towering glass-and-steel edifice befitting Gordon Gekko of Wall Street fame. Tucked into an office park just yonder of Maumelle, the single-story building is custom-built but to a passerby might serve one of a thousand utilitarian purposes. Inside, the open, functional space seats its occupants comfortably if not lavishly, right down to senior management offices. Family photos dot desks and scenes from Arkansas’ outdoors hang on the wall.