Hi Everyone,

It has been a very interesting week; with the Super Storm and election. We continue to keep good thoughts for the folks back east.

With election behind us, we are going to continue to balance our portfolios in a way that doesn’t merely react; but stays proactive.

~Susan

Investing Jan 1 – Oct 23

Bloomberg Businessweek published a neat graph on page 50 of their October 29 – November 4, 2012 issue. It’s a snapshot of investment performance of core assets for this year.

For all of the worry, politics and emotion, the year-to-date numbers are what they are:

U.S. high-yield corporate bonds – +13.3%
S&P 500-stock index – +12.4%
U.S. investment grade corporate bonds – +9.6%
Gold – +9.1%
Emerging market stocks – + 8.8%
Asian stocks – + 7.7%
Euro area stocks – +7.1%
Municipal bonds – +6.3%
Inflation-indexed treasuries – +6.3%
U.S. Treasuries – +3.4%
Dollar index – -0.3%
Commodities – -0.9%

Results

Over the next few weeks, much time will be spent analyzing results. Were our goals met? What needs to be adjusted for 2013?

Most of my clients have and will continue to expect investment returns somewhere between the U.S. Treasuries and S&P 500-stock index. As you can see, that’s a rather wide range this year.

As you know, many things affect your investment returns: risk tolerance, emotion, timing, etc. Our goal, as always, is to balance these factors and stay “above the fray”. I believe in being passionate about my clients and dispassionate about how we analyze the markets.

Regardless of how you’re feeling at the moment, stay invested.

Until next week,
Susan R. Linkous

Election and Dec 31

I write these updates on Sunday afternoons. You read them on Wednesday evenings. This week, we’ve had a couple of interesting days in between.

The outcome should not dictate your investment strategy. Just contact me and understand some of the following:

The opinions voiced in this material are for information only and not intended to be specific investment advice. Precious metal investing involves greater fluctuation and potential for losses. The fast price swings in commodities and currencies will result in significant volatility. International and emerging market investing involves special risks and may not be suitable for all investors. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) are subject to market and interest rate risk. High yield/junk bonds are not investment grade securities and are also subject to interest rate, credit and market liquidity risks. These bonds are typically for sophisticated investors.

Special thanks to Mr. Thomas M. Cooper, JD, CLU, ChFC of Thomas M. Cooper & Associates for his contribution to this post.